


The Star of Midgar

by silver_doe287



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: AU, F/M, Mild Violent Content, Slow Burn, aerith is taken in by president shinra, and becomes a figure for the people, cloud has a hallucinatory shadow that won't leave him alone, cloud has self-esteem issues, somebody get cloud a therapist, this will have a happy ending i guarantee it, tw: thoughts of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 104,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_doe287/pseuds/silver_doe287
Summary: When their escape fails and Aerith's mother Ifalna is killed, young Aerith is taken in by President Shinra in order to continue his eager search for the Promised Land. As the events of Final Fantasy 7 unfold, she is thrusted from the confinement of the Shinra Building into unexpected circumstances, friendships, and maybe even love.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 33
Kudos: 119





	1. Prologue

_October 0003_

President Shinra stepped out of the open helicopter door, which was being held by a waiting trooper, and braced his sight for the onslaught of expected flashes. Night had fallen over the city, making the assault of lights even more annoying on his adjusted eyes. Cameras whirred, buzzing like bees in his ears amidst the inquiring shouts of reporters. He could feel his temples throbbing, signaling the beginnings of a migraine.

He sighed, taking in a deep breath through his nose. The sharp, distinct scent of mako energy clung to the air and welcomed him like a warm blanket back to his favorite spot on this wretched planet – his great city of Midgar. This was the smell of success, and he embraced it like an old friend as he left the slowly dying blades of the helicopter behind. Stepping off the platform and onto the waiting helipad complete with usual red carpet, he was greeted by his latest receptionist: a mousy young thing with short, business-like hair and attractive, full lips. She was wearing her typical pencil skirt and blouse, clipboard in hand and hair pulled up and out of her face.

“Welcome back, sir,” the waiting receptionist nodded, barely making herself heard over the din. Shinra nodded to her absently, turning to eye the group of reporters with distaste. The worst thing about being the CEO and founder of such a powerful company and the greatest city the world had ever seen was the press that came with it; even if the press was owned by the company itself. They were like vultures, circling around him, waiting for him to take notice with clipboards raised as they preyed on the next big headline. Such was the life of the CEO of Shinra Electric Power Company, and he had already planned for their impatience from his important mission to Junon.

Finding out the insolence of his own flesh and blood had filled him with rage. Rufus was too much like him, too intent on seizing his own power and doing things the way he wanted. After all, he was a Shinra man, and Shinra men took what they wanted, no questions asked. They were destined to rule empires, build metropolises of wealth and abundance, and they were born leaders. It only made sense that Rufus had sold him out to the traitor bastards, Avalanche.

Still, as he had debated tossing his favorite son to some of Professor Hojo’s more…unpleasant experiments, a lilting voice had rested calmly on his mind, reminding him that having an heir and maintaining a positive figure in the public eye had to be priority. That had calmed his murderous rage down into a vigor, which had resulted in him personally escorting his son to his new house arrest in Junon, where the second largest amassed infantry could keep a compelling eye on him.

As he began to stride past the reporters, pretending to not notice them, their questions sailed delectably into his ears.

“President Shinra, sir! Is it true you’re punishing the vice president for recent allegations on your life?”

“Sir! Do you have news of any future peace talks with Wutai with the ceasefire in effect?”

“Thank you for coming,” the president stepped up to the crowd, lifting his arms and smiling. “I will be happy to answer yours and Midgar’s questions, as always. As to the situation with my dear son Rufus, he is taking an extended stay for his health in Junon. Any rumored allegations are, of course, false. My son and I remain as close as ever.” Lying through his teeth was an easy game to play with this naïve bunch.

“In regards to Wutai, the ceasefire continues as long as they do not threaten Midgar and Shinra’s livelihood. So long as they hold up their end, we will hold up our end.”

He was going to make a few other characteristic comments on the people of Midgar and his honor to be with them once more, but he noticed the crowd’s eyes collectively drift to the helicopter he had just flown in on, fresh meat in their sight. The bulbs began to flash again, frantically this time, twice as often as they had with him. President Shinra dropped his arms and demeanor, maintaining a momentary composure of politeness and leadership. He watched as his recently turned of age ward descended down the stairs, dressed in a light blue tea-length halter dress complete with sheer white scarf. Her light brown hair was pinned up snug behind her head, held in place by a pair of intricate, crossed hair sticks. She took a tentative step with her dainty heels onto the platform, eyes seeking him.

He strode back over to her, offering his hand for her to take so he could help her down the platform and onto the plush, red carpet. She smiled gratefully at him, and he smiled back. The cameras were having a heyday with the exchange, as he had hoped they would.

The reporters were clambering over each other now, desperate to be heard first.

“Aerith!”

“Look this way please!”

Aerith turned her head to the group and gave a dazzling smile, her bright, green eyes lit with excitement at the attention. Shinra ushered her forward, letting her have the spotlight for the time being while he looked on with a smug smirk.

“Remind me to thank Tseng again for his suggestion on bringing her with,” he murmured carefully to the receptionist waiting next to him.

“Yes, sir,” she said as she began writing on her clipboard. President Shinra watched the way Aerith interacted with the reporters, looking very much comfortable in her position. She had after all, been in the spotlight for the past…what was it now? Eleven years already? Getting dolled up and being in the limelight seemed to suit her very well, and her kind face being plastered across a swooning Midgar had, more than once, come in handy from some of his hairier scandals.

“Aerith, how do you feel about Rufus being in Junon?” One of the reporters asked, microphone outstretched as he egged his camera man to get a close up of her face. Aerith looked down for an appropriate moment, timing her reaction before meeting the camera head-on.

“I will miss him so much,” she replied, emotions tangling in her light, airy voice. “I plan on writing to him once a week at least.”

Cameras glistened as an audible sigh rose up from the crowd. Perfect answer, as always.

“Aerith!” another reporter elbowed her way in, eyes wild with excitement. “Do you have your eye on any men in Midgar?”

This one made her look down again, and her composure was for the slightest a seconds, broken. If he hadn’t known her so well, President Shinra wouldn’t have even noticed. Within a fraction of a second the grin returned to her face and she smiled sweetly.

“Not at the moment!” Aerith answered cheerfully, offering a quick wave and another pose before meeting President Shinra, who escorted her towards his office with her arm wrapped in his. Lights flashed their shadows onto the platform as they made their way across the carpet and into the warmth of his office, receptionist quickly following behind. Another trooper stood at attention with the door open, closing it when they had passed through. President Shinra sighed and dimmed the windows to cut off his connection with the menagerie of journalists fighting for one final picture. The reporters would be ushered back to the side entrance, leaving him finally in peace.

“Good job, as always,” he said, voice all business as he let her arm go and nodded for the receptionist to take her leave. She scurried out of the room, leaving him with Aerith. He straightened his tie. “I appreciate your assistance on this…delicate matter.”

“Of course,” Aerith replied, smile dropping to a more normal, polite level. “I’m always happy to help.”

Shinra pulled back his throne of a chair, sinking into its plush seat and leaning forward, fingertips pressing together in front of his chin as he stared at his ward. He could hardly believe she had been here for eleven years now. It seemed like only yesterday when he had gotten the news of her mother’s attempted escape and ultimate death, leaving the girl an orphan and the last living connection to the race of Ancients he had searched so hard for. Professor Hojo had suggested many, many ideas on what to do with the young girl, some of which made even his stomach turn. He had demanded to meet the child, thinking a face-to-face would help solve the dilemma of what to do with her.

And then Tseng, the then relatively young Turk who showed great promise in some of his earlier missions, had stepped forward with a proposition approved by Rufus himself – for the image of Shinra as a company, it would benefit him greatly to take in a ward, especially one with as big of eyes and prettiest of faces as this little girl. She must have been no more than seven at the time, eyes fresh with tears at the loss of her mother and her small body shying away from the scientist leering at her. She had made eye contact with him and President Shinra had instantly been sold. Keeping her with him would allow her to resume experimenting with Hojo, but would also protect her from his more sick scenarios. Plus, it meant that Shinra himself could oversee her artistic studies, making sure she had every outlet available to point him in the direction of his Promised Land.

It turned out that having Aerith around as eye candy for the media proved to be more fruitful than he ever could have imagined, too. She constantly stole the hearts of the city and the world, and requests for photo shoots, interviews, and candids brimmed for years. She picked up the spotlight easily, her smile coming effortlessly and her eyes shining with hope. Shinra and Aerith reached an understanding as she grew older, a wordless agreement that she would help him in his public limelight in return for her continued safety and health…and the rare, occasional personal request she would bequeath him.

The smile had faded from her face now and Aerith was now biting her lip, hands clasped gently in front of her as she studied the glassy floor beneath her feet.

“What is it, child?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. For all of her years under his care, she hardly ever asked him for something in a genuine manner, and when she did, she always had this slightly guilty look on her face, as if asking would be too much. This was that exact expression down to the letter, meaning she wanted something from him.

Aerith stopped biting her lip, looking up at him with her lips forming an ‘o’ of surprise. Then she closed her mouth and bowed her head.

“I would like to visit the church,” she asked softly, folding her fingers together as if she was praying. The request hung in the air as Shinra frowned at her, mentally calculating the last time she had been to pray. Hadn’t she just gone a few months earlier for her annual pilgrimage in honor of her mother? She wasn’t allowed in the disgusting slums as it was, save for this single yearly event he allotted her. Needless to say, he didn’t like his ward being amongst the infestation of poor people below.

“What purpose would you have for doing that? You already went for your mother this year,” he voiced his thoughts, leaning back and crossing his arms. “You know I don’t like you being down there. You could get hurt by monsters or worse.”

 _Worse – the vermin of the underbelly of this majestic city,_ he thought wryly.

Aerith lifted her head back up, her green eyes glistening in the dim light of the office as they drifted down to where her fingers began playing with the strings on her scarf.

“It’s been a year,” she said, voice barely a whisper. “Since Zack disappeared.”

So _that’s_ what this was about. President Shinra’s mind wandered back to a few years earlier, when the young SOLDIER had been her bodyguard on her annual pilgrimage. Some kind of friendship had formed from that moment, and she had requested him every year since. When he had found out that they had been seeing each other in secret, he had nearly the boy killed on the spot. Luckily, Aerith’s bleeding heart compassion had begged him to let the boy stay, and she promised she would no longer meet him in secret. Shinra cursed his own growing softness and had agreed, putting the SOLDIER on mission after mission instead. When he made First Class, the business of his schedule had taken over Shinra’s own personal requests.

“First Class SOLDIER Zack Fair was declared dead on mission,” he reminded her. She glanced up, eyes steely for the slightest moment. Both knew that this was a lie. He wondered just how much she knew with that Ancient intuition of hers.

It was a pity to lose the last of the First Class SOLDIERS, even President Shinra could understand that. First the embarrassing debacle with his scientist Hollander and Genesis, then the resulting situation with Angeal, had been something he as a CEO had not been proud of. The science department had already been on a tight string when the… _incident_ occurred in that backwater country town whose name had escaped him.

He frowned at the memory of finding out his best SOLDIER, propaganda piece, and potential future spouse to Aerith had gone mad and destroyed the town. While this had been perplexing enough, the fact that Sephiroth had been defeated by a mere trooper had nearly caused him to blow a gasket. He hadn’t necessarily been thinking clearly when he found out that both the trooper and Zack Fair were alive and approved Professor Hojo to take them in for his latest experiments. His mind had been reeling, and of course having Aerith’s little fling gone should have made things easier, too. That seemed to have backfired in his direction.

Now she stood in front of him, hands clasped, practically pleading to endanger herself to mourn the loss of this boy. It reminded him that she was not a Shinra and would never be more than a pawn to control his people and satiate his desire to find the Promised Land.

“Is this to become a yearly occurrence?” Shinra asked coolly, frowning at her. Something flickered behind Aerith’s eyes, a fire he hadn’t seen from her much as she knew his disapproval of talking back.

“Until he is found,” she responded, standing up a bit taller. “You know the church is one of the only places I get to be myself.”

Shinra sighed, rubbing a hand on his forehead. That migraine was in full swing now, the throbbing traveling from his temples to just behind his eyes as the relatively dim lights in his office pulsed brightly.

“Very well,” he conceded with a grumble. “I’ll arrange for a member of the Turks to escort you to the church and back.”

Aerith’s face burst into a grin and she practically bounced as she bobbed her head in a bow again.

“Thank you so much, sir,” she replied in earnest as she clasped her hands. “It means the world to me to visit the church.”

“I expect you to do something for me in return,” he told her solemnly, and her smile faltered for a moment.

“O-of course,” she murmured, excitement dimming once more. “What would you like?”

“A new painting,” Shinra declared. “Two days in isolation should do it.”

Aerith sighed and drooped her shoulders slightly.

“Very well,” she accepted quietly, bowing her head again and turning to leave.

“You’ll lead us there, don’t worry,” he encouraged as her heeled footsteps echoed through his majestic office. “With your assistance, we will get to the Promised Land.”

 _Where I can have a limitless supply of mako and build my Neo Midgar,_ he hummed inwardly, gleefully. It was almost within his grasp now, and one of these days she would figure it out and bring him to his future metropolis. After all, there didn’t seem to be anything his star of Midgar couldn’t do.


	2. Return to the Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to my first multi-chapter fanfic for the FF7 community! I'll be posting new chapters every Friday on here and on Fanfiction, so you're welcome to read where you most feel comfortable! I would like to thank my wonderful new friend and beta Rand0mSmil3z for going through my chapters and inadvertently giving me ideas to keep this going. She writes some incredible stories, so make sure to check her writing out too!
> 
> This fic will be a slow-burn, and my main focus is the beautiful plot of this AU, so not everything will be 100% accurate to the original game or to Remake (since timelines are a bit different there). I welcome you all, I look forward to your reviews, and I thank you for taking the time to read my story. :)

_September 0007_

_Aerith_

Aerith huddled under her hooded cloak at the back of the train, doing her best to blend in with the traveling crowd and not be recognized. Her breathing was labored, and her grasp was clutching at the folds of the cloak tightly, knuckles paling at the strain. Her eyes darted around at the others in the same carriage as her, on edge despite not one of them even paying her a moment’s glance. She felt like at any moment someone could come along, rip her hood from her face, and recognize her; then she would be in trouble for sure, at the least with the Turks and at the most with President Shinra. Word would get out to the press, and then she would be in heaps of trouble for ruining the one useful aspect about her position as Shinra’s ward.

She shuddered as a chilly wave of artificially pumped air washed through her, brushing against cold tears she hadn’t realized were filling her eyes. Her heart was still reeling, peeled open like the rind of a fruit exposing the raw nerves which pulsed at the memory of his soul’s presence.

It had been years, yes. Aerith had all but given up hope on seeing Zack again. But yet, until this afternoon, she had chosen not to dwell on where he was or what he was doing. Stubbornly determined in her own internal way, she had known he lived, somewhere on the great, wide expanse of planet where she could not see him, and she had accepted that he had either moved on without her, was hiding from her, or was incapacitated from reaching out to her. Their relationship had not been encouraged by President Shinra, and she had suspected at one point he had a hand in keeping the SOLDIER away.

She had been lucky to be in her painting room, on the verge of a three-day isolation session where she would try to meditate and paint her ancestor’s Promised Land into existence with her mind and brush. It had been mere hours since she was set up with meals, her emergency button, and every bottle of paint and brush she could ever ask for. She had sighed and prepared herself for the mindless task of producing something President Shinra would be happy with.

And then the force had slammed into her like a hurricane, tasting of blood and rain and cold. His soul clung to her heart, whispering apologies and washing her in love. And then it went on its way, as souls would do, leaving her a horrified, sobbing mess on the floor.

Aerith almost pushed the emergency button right then and there, which would of course have been ridiculous: without results, that button would grant her nothing more than unwarranted excitement from the president, and subsequent disappointment when he realized she was doing nothing more than sobbing over a boy. As she had gasped, clutching her chest as if to will the soul to return and be held by her, a clarity washed over her. She needed to get out, and she needed to get out now. Fumbling for her long-since discovered escape plan, she picked herself up and steered her feet towards the bathroom. She had peeled away the back paneling to reveal the emergency release on the door, giving it a shove. In the main room, the door had slid open to reveal a dark, empty hallway.

She had stolen through the lab, made it back to her apartment on the eastern section of the fifty-eighth floor, grabbed her cloak, and snuck down the emergency stairwell. Leaving the Shinra building wasn’t too difficult, but she made sure to seem unimposing anyway, keeping her face hidden from the troopers at either side of the outer entrance.

Aerith had found her way onto the train, stumbling as she struggled for a seat when it picked up again. She hadn’t ridden the train before, and this caused a new anxiety to ripple through her on top of the others. The darkness of the tunnels threatened to close in on either side, making her curl in more on herself. She had to get to the church, and fast. She needed to be in a space where she could feel some semblance of comfort.

“Entering the Sector 5 undercity,” the pleasant woman’s voice echoed over the speaker. The train slowed, and Aerith swayed with it as she disentangled her legs and let them fall to the floor. After the train came to a stop, she stood and followed the others disembarking.

Once her feet stepped onto the platform, still feeling the residual sway of the motion she had just left, Aerith glanced around. The sun was setting against the empty hole of sector six, bending into the sector five undercity like a warm, coiled hand. She took a deep breath and felt the evening sun on her face, trying to calm down in the process. Then she started down the path she knew would take her to the church. The cheerful greetings of people at the station died down as she crept out the back and snuck through the fence. Her cloak caught for a moment and she tugged, feeling disheartened as part of it ripped. That would be noticed. She hurried along, nervously keeping an eye out for monsters as her hand curled around the fire materia she kept on her for moments like this.

To her luck, Aerith found the pathway cleared, with not even a trace of the usual ugly monsters Tseng had always cleared for her. Thinking she finally had a stroke of luck, she surged forward, eyes on the growing monument in the distance.

A few minutes of walking quickly through the mess of a path that the slums provided left her to her thoughts, which Aerith tried not to dive into. Not yet, anyway; under the safe canopy of the church, she would express her emotions. She wiped one stray tear away, desperately jogging forward as the church finally rose into view from the heaps of industrial trash and towering rocks that surrounded her. She stopped at its steps, panting, tears spread across the heat of her cheeks from her exertion.

_I made it._

Legs trembling, Aerith slowly made her way up the stairs, stopping to rest a palm against the resolute, wooden doors that beckoned her in. It was warm against her cool touch, a testament to the last rays of sun that had snaked their way through rubble to find the church’s entrance. Then she grasped the handles in both hands and pushed open the door.

The serene space welcomed her with open arms, alighting her nostrils with the wonderful scent of flowers and delighting her eyes with the stream of color through stained glass windows. She softly closed the doors behind her, their shutting leaving an echoing thud as she started towards her sanctuary. Aerith put her hands together as she stumbled towards the flowers, the raw wound in her heart ripping open again as she accepted what she had felt back in her painting room.

_Zack had died._

“He’s gone,” she whispered brokenly, cloak dropping from her shoulders as she knelt in front of the flowers, staring at their cheerful, gentle swaying. She felt tears begin to cascade down her cheeks, dripping onto the soft petals. She closed her eyes and folded her hands, willing her spirit to search the church for the comforting lifestream, to remind herself that he may be dead but he had also returned to the planet, where she too would be someday. As she prayed and searched, she felt many reassuring souls touch her, trying to share with her a bit of their light. She resisted, desperate for a feel of _him_ again. But she knew it was futile. He had returned to the planet. His soul, whose life had ended in a kind of horrible torment that plagued her mind, was now allowed to be at peace. She knew she couldn’t pull him from that, physically or emotionally.

Aerith sensed a presence behind her and sniffled, keeping her eyes shut. Of course Tseng was here. He always knew where she was.

“Does he know?” she asked, voice cracking through her tears.

“No,” came the soft reply, gentler than Tseng had ever sounded in the past. He almost sounded…apologetic. Her eyes peeked open and she turned her head ever so slightly, staring at him. His expression matched his voice.

“We were trying to get to him first,” Tseng said methodically, as if giving her a report would be enough of an explanation. “But the army beat us to him.”

She nodded, fresh tears leaving tracks down her face. Tseng would always try to help her. Under his professional, stoic exterior, he had always been the kindest to her out of everybody at Shinra; her one friend in a lonely world of make believe.

Tseng stepped forward then.

“I’m not sure how long you have,” he warned her. “I disabled the camera in your room, put on a loop to buy you some time…but you shouldn’t linger.”

“I know.” She hiccupped, hugging herself. Her spaghetti strap white dress wasn’t the best choice for a cool fall evening, but she hadn’t had a chance to do much more than grab her cloak before she made her escape.

Tseng picked up her cloak where it had pooled behind her, offering it to her. She accepted it and his outstretched hand, lifting to her feet. Her legs were still shaking from her turmoil, but she would live. That much she knew for sure.

Tseng guided her back towards the doors again, and her heart, though still aching, would eventually mend, Aerith knew this. She had a job to do and it was the only thing keeping her safe from Hojo, which meant she would willingly leave with Tseng once again.

When Tseng stopped, Aerith was confused. He put a hand up to his ear, and she wiped her eyes to see that he had an earpiece there.

“Copy. Subdue,” Tseng reported back, before stepping smoothly between Aerith and the doors. “We need to wait here.”

“What’s going on?” Aerith asked, suddenly nervous. Had some bad monsters discovered them? She could now hear the sounds of a scuffle: electronic zapping, the fire of a couple guns, a commotion of mixed voices yelling in different pitches. She pulled her cloak closer, bringing the hood up again in case the wrong party came through the door.

“Some unexpected visitors who are very interested in you,” Tseng answered her calmly. “There’s only a couple, so it shouldn’t take long.”

Aerith felt a thrill of fear rush to her head and she took a step backwards, clutching at the small orb she had hidden in her cloak pocket. She was unsure of what her small fire materia would do to help. Luckily however, she didn’t have to worry about protecting herself, as the door banged open and two of the Turks she knew well by now, Reno and Rude, came marching in with an angry girl around her age pinned under their hands.

“Let me go!” the girl yelled, fury encapsulating her voice. She had green pants, an armor-plated top, and a bright red headband under a ponytail.

“We caught this one at least,” Reno muttered, brandishing her in front of him. “The other guy got away.”

Tseng hummed noncommittally. Then he looked back at Aerith, giving an approving nod when he saw her hood was up.

“Detain her until I tell you otherwise,” he instructed. “We will take our leave.”

Aerith trembled as Tseng lead her around the spitting mad girl, whose eyes were suspicious and wide as she tried to see under the hood. Aerith had a feeling the girl knew exactly who she was.

They headed down the stairs and around obvious signs of a scuffle – smoldering rubble here, a _shoe_ over there – she did a double take at the latter. Sure enough, a shoe lay haphazardly on the path. She blinked at it, wondering just what had happened for its owner to lose a shoe of all things, as she stepped around it.

“Rude, cover us,” Tseng said quietly. Aerith didn’t hear an answer but knew that Rude wasn’t really the verbal type. She kept close to Tseng, his arm bracing her back as he looked calmly from side to side for signs of further danger. There was a shuffling noise to their left and Tseng stopped, once again maneuvering his body to block hers.

“Nine o’clock,” he murmured. Aerith listened through her own heartbeat, pounding loudly in her ears. She heard another scuffle, a few shots and a painful yelp. Tseng pushed her forward again.

“Go,” he urged quickly. “I’m right behind you.”

Aerith took that as a sign she was in danger, and she began to sprint, feet uneven against the mismatched floor and ground beneath her. It was all she could do to make sure her cloak stayed over her as she made her way back to the station. Once there, she would be safe. She focused with all her might on not tripping, willing her feet to stay steady enough for her legs. At one point, she swore she heard somebody in pursuit and silently prayed that it was Tseng, following her as he had promised he would.

She nearly yelped when her cloak caught again, tugging her hood down and pausing her momentum. She looked down anxiously, seeing it was the long, thin hooks of a piece of scrap metal that had snagged her. She quickly looked back to see Tseng wasn’t too far behind, but there was a bit of distance between them for now. With shaking hands, Aerith bent down and coaxed the cloak away from the metal, freeing herself in what felt like wasted hours but was more realistically a few seconds. And then she was free, continuing her sprint to the finish line. She brought her hood back up as she snuck through the fence once more, letting out the breath she had been holding only when she saw Tseng follow her through the gate.

“Is everything okay?” she asked breathlessly, gulping in as much oxygen as she could take. Her lungs were burning and there was a stitch in her side: she wasn’t that attuned to physical exertion, especially in her current condition.

Tseng nodded curtly.

“We just had some unexpected guests is all,” he reiterated. “They have been dealt with for now.”

Aerith sighed deeply, flexing her fingers and adjusting her hood to hide her face better.

“Who were they?” she questioned as Tseng led the way back to the train station. It didn’t seem he had brought a helicopter with him today, so they would be stuck taking public transport back up.

“We believe them to be members of a new cell of Avalanche,” Tseng replied as he scanned the faces around the station, determining none of them were threats. “The eco-terrorist organization that has sought to thwart Shinra at every turn. What they wanted with you…perhaps leverage for their demands,” he thought out loud to himself. Aerith gasped and clutched her cloak tighter.

“Anyway,” Tseng continued, “let’s get you back before you’re discovered missing.”

She nodded slowly, suddenly feeling as if she had eyes watching her from all sides. The feeling was unnerving and was most likely brought on by her current paranoia from the eco-terrorists wanting to take her away, so she shook it off as best as she could and quietly followed Tseng back to the station.

There was a bit of a commotion on the other side of the train platform as they approached, one that drew her nervous gaze. Tseng’s eyes flicked over, disinterest written over his entire face as he deemed the commotion not a threat and instead watched the incoming train prepare to stop. He gestured Aerith forward when the doors opened, allowing citizens to stream out and others to step on. As she was stepping onto the train to take her back to Shinra, she got a quick glimpse of the source of the commotion: somebody was slumped over on the stairs, looking much worse for wear. She caught a glimpse of blond hair, unkempt and dirty from their surroundings. Heavily lidded eyes opened for a brief moment and caught her stare. The distinct glow of mako was undeniable, and it sent a shiver down her spine as she remembered Zack’s beautiful eyes having the same effect.

Aerith broke her gaze with the ill stranger and quickly boarded the train, taking a seat next to Tseng and adjusting her hood yet again. Rumbling started up beneath her feet and the train lurched forward, slowly picking up momentum. Aerith found herself staring through the windows as the train pushed past the stranger, seeing somebody rush forward and crouch down in front of him before he disappeared from sight and the train began its ascent.

The minutes in the train lengthened, and Aerith began to feel strange. As she sat there, staring at the darkening world darting past the windows, her mind began to drift. A pleasant fog took over her thoughts, and she had the feeling like she was floating in a cloud. Her eyes became unfocused and she stared ahead, suddenly seeing with her mind’s eye a new image beginning to appear on the edges of her vision.

An iridescent blue sky blanketed a pristine bed of mountains with a soft coating of white – snow? At the center of these monumental jagged rocks lay a deep, dark, eerie hole. She felt a sense of foreboding around the image, but this could not stop the thrill that reached her heart as she realized this was the location she had been longing to see for eons. The place felt familiar, comforting and yet wrong. Her heart began to ache for this place, wanting to explore it in detail as her mind’s eye drank it in. She knew what it was. She had been waiting for years for this moment.

“Tseng,” she gasped quietly, holding the image in her mind, “I have it. I know what to paint.”

Tseng hummed to himself, choosing not to reply. As she blinked the image out of the forefront of her mind and stored it away for her painting session when she returned, she beamed up at him. She would finally be able to paint the Promised Land for President Shinra. She would finally be useful.

Tseng gave her a curt nod, the corners of his mouth twitching. His eyes were far away and troubled. Aerith didn’t pay this much though, especially after what had just happened. She had to focus on what she _could_ control now, and delivering her mental image to her guardian was something she could, after almost two decades of trying, finally control. Freedom was within her grasp.

* * *

_Cloud_

The pressure in his head was pounding like a hammer into his skull, beating him into a submission that he blissfully welcomed. At least if he could get some rest, he could stop this incessant abuse. His heart pounded an unfamiliar rhythm in his ears, straining under the torment of his body’s pain. His limbs felt simultaneously weightless and like lead, both foreign and parasitic. The air entering his mouth tasted stale and sharp, and it bit into his tongue like an insect.

He couldn’t determine where he was even if he had been strong enough to pull his eyelids open and check. The entire focus of his body was to _stop the pain_ and he didn’t know how to do it. Images kept surfacing in his mind, one after another. He didn’t know what he was searching for. A pattern, maybe? Reality? Like a marching army the memories came one by one, his tormented brain shoving pieces together to try and make sense of things. An eternal ache chilled his bones as his mess of a mind tried its best to fit the puzzle pieces together.

One sense returned at once – touch. He felt cold. The ground beneath him was jagged and hard and very unpleasant. Focusing with all his might, he tried to shift into a more comfortable position. He may have cried out. He couldn’t tell.

The next sense that returned was hearing. Voices, bumping against one another as they fought to enter his mind, jumbled into a blend of distorted noise. Something poked at his shoulder, and he shied away fearfully from the touch. His brain reared up and his world spun _green_ , anger billowing beneath his useless body’s surface. This anger did not feel natural, and it did not feel normal. It was angry at his discombobulation, and it made itself known by turning up the dial on the pain in his head. There was no denying it this time; the cry that bubbled up in his throat escaped through his lips in a mangled heap.

He had to figure out what was going on, anything to stop the anger from increasing his punishment tenfold. He struggled with the next sense, pushing his eyelids to bend to his will as he fought to see. A sliver of the external world returned to his sight, a twilight world of mumbling bodies and nervous hands surrounding him. He fought through these with his sight, searching for anything that could provide answers.

He discovered the brightest, most luminescent emerald green color he had ever laid eyes on, warm and welcoming unlike the swampy tinge lingering in his mind. His breathing slowed, pounding subduing into a dim roar, and coherency gradually relaxed his taut muscles. It was if the very sight of that color was pulling him out of his stupor.

The beautiful green vanished then, and he felt an instant pang in his heart, breath hitching in his throat as he awaited the return of the onslaught of anger for not completing his mission.

His hearing picked up on another sound, one that sounded familiar.

“Cloud?” The voice burst into his head, and he struggled to turn his head to see the newcomer. “Cloud Strife, is that you? Oh my goodness!”

A person floated into view, kind face swimming with worry as she brushed a stray tendril of long, dark hair behind her ear. His eyes drank in the form, struggling to put a name with the face. He knew this one. Yes, those wine-colored eyes were the subject of his childhood. This was…

“Tifa?”

The words escaped his lips as he stared helplessly up at her, struggling to place her in his jumbled memories. She knelt next to him, brushing a warm hand against his face.

“Cloud, are you okay? What’s going on?” she asked, kindness radiating from her. He pieced it together then – they were friends, yes. There was a night sky, back in the farthest reaches of his mind. He struggled towards it, trying to remember…the stars. The water tower. Her meeting him and asking him to make a promise.

The puzzle, disjointed and confused, slid one piece that made sense, at least enough for now that he could work with it. This was his friend and she must be his mission.

“Tifa, I – what happened?” he asked groggily, voice raspy as he struggled to gain the rest of his senses. He took in many things at once: the departure of the train from the station he was in, the dispersing of the other people who had been around him, a faint jukebox tune playing in the distance, the delectable smell of something fried.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, eyes still clouded with concern. “You were laying on the steps here. Are you hurt?”

Cloud looked down at himself, at the unfamiliar clothing he wore. Yes, of course – this was a SOLDIER’s uniform. His mind happily clicked another puzzle piece into place. He was a former first class SOLDIER, back in Midgar to…do what, exactly?

“I don’t feel hurt,” he replied, checking his body for signs of injury. He didn’t feel any grave wounds, and the headache that had enveloped him earlier was fading into a distant, pulsing memory. He felt fine. Great, in fact. “I think I’m okay.”

Tifa’s face shone with relief.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re here! Are you staying nearby?”

As Cloud digested his words, the headache reared back up, throbbing angrily against the front of his skull. He grunted, hand flying up to his forehead as if pressing against it would help against the pain. One moment he had been fine, the next he wasn’t.

“Oh no,” Tifa muttered and he gritted his teeth, finding the words were difficult to reassure her with. He dropped his head between his legs, focusing on breathing and hoping the headache would listen. It didn’t.

“Let’s get you back to my place for now,” she was saying, speaking as if through a tunnel. Cloud barely registered what she had to say, willingly and blindly allowing her to help him up and coax him into taking a few tentative steps.

“Stand back, the train is arriving,” a disembodied voice spoke from above, and Cloud vaguely acknowledged that Tifa was leading him towards where he had seen that beautiful emerald green. He focused on that now, trying to will its temporary magic to return and soothe him.

Cloud was led onto the train and Tifa deposited him gently in a seat, removing a comforting weight from his back. A sword? There were murmurings around him as he leaned his head against the cool window, wishing it would help. Nothing seemed to be helping again, but at least this time he knew who he was and where he was. He dropped his hand and focused on keeping his head leaning against the window, especially when the doors closed once more and the chime signaled their lurched movement.

“Who is that?” a voice, soft and feminine, inquired. She didn’t sound familiar.

“An old friend of mine,” Tifa whispered back. “I think he’s hurt. Never mind about that, how did you get away?”

“They let me go,” the other girl sighed, her voice much too loud for Cloud’s liking. He winced and scrunched his eyes together, riding out the worst of the ache. “It had to be her, it just had to be.”

“Maybe this isn’t the best idea,” Tifa exhaled, and Cloud felt a soft presence lean against the seat next to him. A light hand fell on his arm and fingers began soothingly stroking his bicep. The headache dimmed somewhat, and he sucked in a deep breath, exhaling it in a sigh as he let his eyes relax a bit. He was so tired…

“Well you know what Barret’s other idea is, and I know you’re not a fan of it,” the girl pointed out. “At least this way, we get to control the narrative.”

“And nobody gets hurt.” Tifa quieted for a few moments, and Cloud found through his sleepy haze he was concerned. What was she talking about? Was she in trouble? His brain brought his one strong memory back, filling his eyes with stars and her pleading face again. _His promise._

“We’re going to need more time to craft a plan, Jessie,” Tifa said then. “She obviously has skilled bodyguards in those Turks. The last thing we need to do is run into them again.”

The other girl, Jessie, scoffed.

“I let them get me,” she defended, but this sounded half-hearted. “Yeah, I think you’re right. There has to be a better way to do it. In the meantime,” Jessie said, voice sounding like it was providing a warning, “you may want to hide your handsome Shinra pal there. You know how Barret will feel about that uniform.”

He felt Tifa’s gaze on him and he focused on breathing more evenly, giving the appearance of sleep even as the headache disappeared into the back recesses of his mind again.

“I can’t believe he’s here,” she said. “He left Nibelheim seven years ago to join SOLDIER, and I never heard from him. His mom said he was doing fine…and even when our homes burned, he never tried to contact me. I thought he had just forgotten me…”

“Sounds like a lousy friend,” Jessie commented, huffing. Tifa didn’t respond to that, and Cloud frowned slightly, turning his face more so his forehead was facing the window, away from their watchful eyes.

“Maybe we can talk to him about our plans,” she murmured. “He may know a good way to infiltrate Shinra…”

For some reason, this comment made him nervous; and Cloud did _not_ get nervous. He was a former first class SOLDIER, after all. He’d slayed monsters, he’d faced opposition with little concern. As his brain threaded more and more pieces together, he remembered the biggest fight of all – he’d fought Sephiroth, his once idol and companion, friend even. Yes, he had faced the war hero of Wutai himself and he was still here to show for it. Cloud Strife was not afraid of anything.

Then why did his heart jolt a bit? Why did he bite his lip in a slight worry?

“True. We’ll just have to wait till he’s better and then we can slowly introduce the idea to Barret. After all, she’s going to be under lock and key after today’s kerfuffle.”

Tifa sighed, removing her hand from Cloud’s arm.

“That means he’ll want to start planning for the other mission,” she said dejectedly.

“Yup,” Jessie agreed. “Looks like I’ll need to start looking at those –” she whispered the last part – “ _bomb blueprints_ and get a feel for them. Who would have thought, an aspiring actress with adoring fans, jumping into pyrotechnics and explosives?” She giggled. Tiff shot back a half-hearted laugh.

“Now entering the Sector 7 undercity,” the voice from before announced. A hand returned to his arm, giving him a gentle shake.

“Cloud?” Tifa asked uncertainly. “Are you feeling okay now?”

He exaggerated his eyes opening and head turning, pretending to be oblivious to the conversation he’d just heard.

“I’m doing better,” he affirmed, nodding to her. She smiled, letting her hand linger a little longer than he expected on his arm. The train came shuddering to a halt and who Cloud assumed was Jessie leapt up, looking a bit worse for wear. She grinned and winked at him.

“Nice to meet you, Tifa’s _friend_ ,” she teased, her upfront attitude shocking him.

“Uh, hi,” he replied lamely. Jessie skipped ahead and off the train then, leaving Tifa and him.

“Look,” Tifa said quickly. “Why don’t you stay with me tonight. You didn’t seem okay before, and I want to keep an eye on you.”

Cloud felt the back of his neck turn warm at the attention, not used to the feeling.

“If you…think it’s necessary,” he said with a shrug and standing up to follow her out of the train. Night had fallen now, and even though he did feel a lot better, the headache was still pounding aggressively, reminding him that it could floor him at any moment. He stepped gingerly, which Tifa noticed.

“Here, why don’t I help you,” she encouraged with a quick smile. “Just in case.”

Annoyance flitted into the back of his mind, reminding him that he was _not_ weak and did _not_ need help, but his limbs seemed to miss the internal memo. Resigning himself to help just this once, he leaned into her assistance, treading towards a new, unknown future.


	3. Two Proposals and an Explosion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking time to read this story! I am updating every Friday, with nice, big chapters. Thank you again to Rand0msmil3z for taking a look and editing the fic! Our friendship is one of my favorite things to come out of this fandom. ^_^ Without further ado, let's get this show on the road...

_December 0007_

Aerith scrunched up her face as she felt the pins go too deep into her skull to help hold her hair in place. While she knew her head wasn't bleeding from her usual hairstyle preparation, the sensitive skin there prodded at her mind for a moment, reminding her that she did _not_ like wearing her hair up. And yet, thus was the inevitability of being a fashion icon for the entire planet. She resigned herself to her fate and closed her eyes with a sigh.

"Beauty takes time," her hairdresser, Lyla, reminded with the emphasis of another pin being shoved into her head.

"I know," Aerith said quietly and folded her hands gently in her lap, before opening her eyes to meet the gaze of just one of the many assigned to be on her fashion team. If there was one part of this charade she hated the most, it was the getting dolled up just for her guardian to show her off to the press. Of course, this worked more than effectively when he wanted the spotlight off of himself. Tonight, fortunately, this would not be the case.

Her eyes shifted to her own face in the mirror as she studied the contouring and coloring her team had chosen for tonight. The sea blue eyeshadow emphasized the emerald green of her eyes, , and contrasted nicely with the mauve color of her lips. Her hair was curled into a careless cascade of waves, currently on their way to being pinned up in a makeshift bun at the crown of her head. Despite the softness of the hairstyle, having her hair pulled up and pinned in place always made her feel stifled. She wished fashion would turn to less constricting hairstyles, but so far in her fifteen years as Shinra's ward, there showed no sign of swaying from that normal.

"There!" Lyla exclaimed, holding her hands out around Aerith's head and grinning. "Perfection."

"Thank you," Aerith replied politely, smiling. Lyla had the best personality of the team, and despite holding a small grudge for the constriction on her hair, Aerith liked her the best. She accepted her hairdresser's hand and carefully stood, new heels feeling a bit wobbly beneath her. She looked down, trying to see through the gentle folds of green and blue that swallowed her middle and pooled down at her feet. It would take some time to get comfortable in the outfit, but she knew that she would. She always did, after all.

There was whispering from behind her. She turned, confused.

"I thought you said straps were _out,_ " Nile, another member of her fashion team, spluttered with indignation.

Sera, the youngest member of the team, crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I said they were _in_ again," she answered hotly. The two were staring at her dress and pointing. Aerith looked down at her bare shoulders. Straps would have been nice… She felt cold.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Nile interrupted her thoughts impatiently, and he shoved a thin, silk scarf in navy blue at Aerith. She took it gratefully, and wrapped it around her bare shoulders while wishing it was warmer.

A polite knock came at the door. Aerith started heading towards it herself, but Lyla shooed her away and let Sera answer it. It opened, revealing a familiar face that instantly had her relaxing. Neat, brown hair and equally dark eyes with the ring of green around the pupil smiled at her, dressed in his usual SOLDIER uniform – sans weapon – and with the addition of a shiny medallion emblazoned on his chest.

"Kunsel!" Aerith greeted with a big smile, feeling more at ease already.

Second class SOLDIER Kunsel entered the room with a quick, formal bow. "Hey Aerith," he grinned easily, eyes taking in the fashion team surrounding her. "I called dibs on escorting you tonight!"

"That's a relief," she laughed, stepping forward carefully and taking his arm. "These new heels are a bit shaky for me and you know how I am with stairs."

"Wait!" Lyla surged forward, panicked. Aerith swung around, her dress flowing with her as she looked inquisitively at her hairdresser. Lyla was holding a can of setting spray.

"Oops," Aerith giggled. "One moment, please." She stepped away from Kunsel and closed her eyes, hearing the spray nozzle and feeling the chilly mist embed itself in her hair and drape delicately across her shoulders. She shivered again.

"There, now you're ready," Lyla said matter-of-factly. "Knock them dead, gorgeous!"

Aerith nodded her thanks and stepped back over to Kunsel, allowing him to escort her out of her room. The door slid closed behind them and they started down the hallway, on their way to the upper floors.

"How are you?" Kunsel asked gently, peppy demeanor vanishing once they were out of sight of her team.

Aerith sighed, drooping her shoulders a little. "Still no answers on my end," she said lowly. "I wish I could ask outright, but I don't want to start something with _him_."

Kunsel nodded thoughtfully, placing a comforting hand on hers. His hands were warm, and she drank in the heat, cursing fashion for every time she had been left freezing.

"I've been thinking," he told her quietly, "that maybe we should begin looking into…alternate means of finding information."

Aerith glanced up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked, taking note of his dodgy expression and worried lower lip. "Who else would know what happened?"

Aerith had only known Kunsel properly for a few months now, but having a good friend who understood her pain and wanted to help her find answers felt refreshing. They had stumbled across each other after her fateful, secret trip to the church, and she had gravitated towards him for a reason she couldn't see at first. It only took a few minutes of polite chatting for Kunsel to reveal that his best friend had been missing for years, and that Shinra was trying to cover it up by saying he was killed in action. It was then that Aerith had remembered where she knew Kunsel's name – Zack had brought him up a few times in passing as a good and trusted friend. When she confessed what she knew – that Zack had died and the Shinra army had something to do with it –, they had made a plan to figure out what happened to what happened to Zack the past five years, no matter what it took. It was the main reason Aerith remained at Shinra, despite finishing her painting and sending her guardian off to discover the Promised Land as he had always asked of her. While she hadn't been told she was free to go, the last few months she had breathed easier and slept better, determination to find out the truth flowing in her veins as she was left relatively to her own devices, at least until tonight.

It was Kunsel's turn to sigh now, one that spoke of burdens and nervousness. He led them towards the elevator at the end of the hall, and Aerith was grateful that nobody else seemed to be around.

"You've heard of Avalanche?" he asked , even more quietly than before.

Aerith's breath caught in her throat as memories from September flooded back to the forefront of her mind. _Of course_ _I have_ _,_ she wanted to say. She'd had a run in with them a few months ago that almost ended up with her in their clutches. The fact that none of the Turks had given away her illegal escapade had been a relief, but it meant that she carried this information for herself only, unable to share the burden of that terrifying ordeal.

"Yes," she whispered back. "What about them?"

"Well…" Kunsel was thoughtful, calculating. "I think I may have found somebody who could do some research outside of Shinra for us. With that view from the outside looking in, they may be able to spot something we can't see."

"And…they're Avalanche?" Aerith was hesitant for obvious reasons.

Kunsel nodded. "We met on the message boards," he explained. _Ah yes, the infamous online message boards that the citizens of Midgar spen_ _t_ _d their lives gossiping on_ , Aerith thought wryly as he continued. _._ "I didn't mention who I was or that you were involved, but that we had a friend who was killed by the Shinra army recently and we wanted to know why. They claimed to have answers."

"That seems a bit far-fetched," she pointed out. "What did they ask for in return?"

Kunsel sighed, running a hand through his hair as he halted their momentum momentarily. He disentangled his arm from hers, pushed the elevator button, and put his hands on his hips. It made Aerith curious as to his age for a moment: his defined, muscular limbs in such a stance reminded her of somebody much younger.

"They wanted access to the celebration tonight," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "They promised nobody would be hurt and that we wouldn't even know they were here."

Aerith raised a hand to her mouth slowly, realization dawning on her.

"They're _here_?" she shrieked, legs feeling wobbly from the heels she still wasn't used to and head spinning in a new, unfamiliar panic.

Kunsel looked alarmed and grabbed her arm, helping steady her. "I'll keep an eye on anybody suspicious all night," he promised. "Chances are they weren't able to sneak in successfully anyway. Okay? Aerith?"

Aerith's heart was racing a mile a minute as she remembered her flight from the church, how Tseng had told her to run and she had run like her very life dependinged on it – because her very life _had_ probably depended on it. Those same people, wanting to cause her bodily harm, _here._ She was horrified.

The elevator dinged its arrival, and Aerith barely even had a moment to compose herself as the doors opened to reveal the transportation mode was not empty. She struggled to breathe, doing her best to quiet her expression and appear more…positive, but then she caught a glimpse of who the occupant of the elevator was, and she was thrown off-balance once more.

"Rufus, you're here!" she exclaimed, doing her best to school her expression. Kunsel shifted nervously on his feet, giving a quick bow to the vice president of Shinra Electric Power Company. Rufus Shinra, whom she hadn't seen - or written to, if one didn't pay attention to the tabloids - in three years, had grown some, and yet somehow remained exactly the same. His calculated gaze was completed with his signature smirk as he met her eyes. His arms were crossed over a new navy suit – one that complimented her dress, she noticed inwardly. His hair was longer than she'd seen it before and was slicked back. He stood up from leaning against the elevator wall, removing himself from the mode of transport and joining them in the hallway.

"Of course I am," he replied impassively. "It's my birthday, after all."

Aerith mustered a smile up at him, giving him a quick touch on his arm. If she remembered correctly, he had never been much of a hugger.

"It's good to see you," she told him, hoping her expression conveyed this exact fact despite her insides thrumming angrily from her previous conversation. "Welcome home!"

Rufus brushed off the welcome, taking her hand and pressing his lips to it slightly. _Ever the formal gentleman,_ she mused inwardly.

"Father asked me to escort you tonight," he said, eyes drifting over to Kunsel with distaste and a flash of annoyance. "SOLDIER, you can follow behind."

Kunsel looked about to say something, but he snapped his mouth shut and saluted. He shrugged slightly at Aerith, eyes apologetic, as he waited for them to step onto the elevator now. Rufus, still holding Aerith's hand, led her into the elevator.

"So…how have you been?" she asked, making her voice sound bright and innocent. Rufus's slight smirk grew more pronounced.

"You would know that if you'd written to me at all in the past three years," he replied, the smallest semblance of teasing in his tone. So he read the tabloids. Shoot.

"Sorry," she apologized, flustered. "I really am not good at that sort of thing. Most of what I do is to help the narrative…you know." She shrugged and smiled wryly at him. Her stomach was beginning to calm down, and she did her best to focus on the present.

"Yes, I do know that," Rufus agreed smoothly, tone low and thoughtful. "Has father spoken to you at all regarding tonight?"

Aerith shook her head and frowned slightly.

"He's been…busy," she replied vaguely, hinting at what they both knew was going on – he was hunting for his Promised Land. Rufus finally dropped her hand and chuckled to himself, in obvious agreement.

"That's an understatement," he said. "When I arrived this afternoon, he asked to see me. He has a new objective for us."

Aerith frowned at his…insinuating tone.

"And what would that be?" She asked cautiously, folding her hands together at her waist and peeking a quick glimpse at the stoic, quiet Kunsel in the corner. Her eyes darted up to the elevator floor indicator and saw they were almost there now. This was what felt like the longest elevator ride she'd had in awhile.

"You have been an excellent asset to the Shinra family," Rufus explained. "Your presence has assisted father and the company with public relations unlike we could have ever dreamed. With your primary objective now complete, he felt it was time for the next step."

"Spit it out, Rufus," she snapped lightly, frowning at him. He was dancing around the subject. He sighed and met her eyes, his own steely and dead serious.

"At the celebration tonight, father will be announcing our engagement," he told her without a hint of jesting.

Kunsel made a small noise behind her, but Aerith continued staring, mentally processing. Her brain was beginning to feel stretched from all of these bombshells being dropped on her, one after another.

" _Engagement_?" she whispered hoarsely, feeling her heart flutter anxiously at the unfamiliarity of the term on her tongue. Rufus nodded, crossing his arms again and turning away. The elevator slowed and came to a stop.

"It makes sense, of course," he said matter-of-factly, as if this was any other business proposition and not a… _proposition._ "After my three years away and the media's rundown of our…relationship, this is the next logical step."

Aerith's mouth was open as the elevator doors chimed. Rufus held out his arm, not unlike Kunsel had done a few moments earlier. When she didn't immediately show a sign of responding, he impatiently grabbed her hand and pulled her off the elevator.

"It's not that bad," he retorted as they moved along, at a much faster pace now. "Maybe someday, when I'm in charge of things, we can come to a better…arrangement. This is what he wants, and father _always_ gets what he wants."

Aerith couldn't find the words to speak, and she could barely focus on even putting one foot in front of another. She felt like the room was spinning. Her breathing was a bit labored, she noticed, and a small voice inside her reminded her that she needed to mend that before stepping in front of the cameras.

"I will do all the talking," Rufus was saying now. "Just stand in front of them and look happy."

He slowed for a moment at the foot of the escalator that would take them up to the 63rd floor, softening his grip on her hand and turning back to her. He looked at her with pity, understanding. Rufus and she had never been very close, especially since he was seven years older than her. He had always seemed aloof and distant and never one to spend time with her when she was young. As they had grown older, they had been forced together for various spotlight opportunities, the dutiful, fashionable children that President Shinra cared so deeply about – on camera. The nicest thing Rufus had ever done for her was teach her some basic hand-to-hand combat and sneak her the precious fire materia she'd never used. This was before he had been sent away.

No, Aerith had never considered Rufus anything more than an unwilling brother and, later on, a strange almost-friend. The idea of being _married_ to him was…she didn't even know what to think. She began to feel a bit warm in her dress, even with her bare skin's chilled goosebumps.

"Are you ready?"

Rufus broke through her thoughts, eyes penetrating into her mind. She gulped, schooled her expression into something soft and mysterious, and nodded. He seemed satisfied, and he wrapped his arm around hers formally as he led her up the escalator and into the barrage of vulturous media.

The next few minutes passed by in a blur. Aerith kept her mouth shut and let Rufus and her guardian do the talking. The announcement was brief and to the point: she caught a few words here and there, laying out the gist of a false budding romance and the intention of them to wed. The media had lapped it up like starving puppies, blinding her in their constant bombardment of camera flashes and hungry, greedy eyes. Aerith felt a squeeze on her hand at one point and she turned to look up at Rufus, who was significantly taller than her. He gave her the smallest of smiles, eliciting a collective sigh of adoration from the crowd.

Inside, Aerith was having an out-of-body experience. The detachment she felt from the scene she found herself in should have been more worrying, but all she could think about was the freedom she had lost – the freedom she had thought she could taste now that her "primary objective," as Rufus had so crudely put it, – was complete. She was beginning to digest that she would be stuck with Shinra for the rest of her life, a thought that completely and utterly terrified her. She had already given up fifteen years…could she really do another eighty or so?

The thought twisted in her gut and made her feel nauseous.

Thankfully, President Shinra concluded his birthday speech and led the way into the recreation center then, giving Aerith the perfect opportunity to quickly wipe one of her eyes from the tear that threatened to roll down her cheek. She matched pace with Rufus as they were led through the doors, past the operations center – which was alight with its own activity tonight – and into the recreation hall for the commencement of the celebrations.

Cheers erupted from the room as Rufus and she entered, startling Aerith. She did her best to smile and wave at the various employees of Shinra, including the entire cohort of SOLDIERS who had dressed in their uniforms – just like Kunsel – and were scattered amongst finely dressed employees. Her eyes sought Kunsel, who had been sent on ahead when they had reached the media, but she didn't have any luck on her first pass-through.

The recreation hall was decorated appropriately for Rufus's thirtieth birthday: formal tables draped in tasteful black tablecloths and surrounded by decorative chairs had replaced the usual relaxing furniture in the area. The usual centerpiece of the room, a single tree surrounded by a cacophony of wires and artificial light all bottled up behind a glass case, had been covered by hundreds of black and silver streamers, which glittered in the dim, colorful lighting provided by a music booth in front of it. Around the side of the room stretched a long, groaning buffet with every type of food she could ever imagine on it. A separate dessert table stood off to the side, a magnificent five-tiered cake its glistening centerpiece under the party lights.

Aerith was led by Rufus over to the table of honor in the middle of the room. The plates here had already been filled with a mouthwatering assortment of meats, cheeses, and other appetizer items. In any other moment, she would have been ecstatic by the feast. Tonight, she just felt sick to her stomach. Rufus helped her sit and she gratefully sank into the plush seat beneath her, her legs shaking from the stress and shock of her newfound fate. Rufus quietly poured ice water into the goblet in front of her, picking it up and handing it to her. He leaned closer to her ear.

"Father and I will make the rounds," he said under his breath. "You sit and work on your expression."

He didn't say this unkindly, but the idea that she still had to do this shook her to the core. Aerith nodded once, biting her lower lip and not meeting his eyes. Rufus strolled off to meet President Shinra, the two of them beginning to work their way through the hundreds of people scattered throughout the floor.

For a few needed moments, Aerith was alone. Music began to pulse beneath her feet as speakers played a soft, formal song to accompany the mingling of the guests. Aerith dug in the folds of her dress for the hidden pocket she had requested, pulling out one of her seldom-used PHS's and bringing it to life. She had a message from Kunsel, to her relief.

 _Sorry,_ it read. _I had no idea they were planning this. It's going to make it more difficult for us to talk…you probably shouldn't be alone with another guy. I'll keep an eye out for you-know-who._

Tears brimmed at the words, Aerith took a shaky breath and fought her emotions, typing back a quick _Thank you, Kunsel_ before pocketing her PHS once more. She took the goblet and drank the rest of the glass as quickly as she could, hoping the cold water would douse her emotions and give her the courage to continue on. She was beginning to feel rather hopeless at the situation. She watched as people mingled together, eyes constantly darting her way and then leaving again. Of course she would be the talk of the night – or rather, her engagement to Rufus Shinra, heir to the mako throne would be. When Rufus joined her again a few minutes later, the president having retired for the evening, she felt a bit more in control of her emotions. He signaled the beginning of the dinner portion of the evening and waved over the waiting servers, who deposited delicious samplings of the food in front of them. Aerith smiled as thankfully as she could at her server, a young woman with a pale complexion and long, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. The server nodded and returned to her post.

"They really went all out tonight, didn't they," Rufus said conversationally as he eyed his plate. "Father made sure all of my favorites were on the menu."

"Mmm-hmm," Aerith replied softly, picking up her soup spoon and dipping into the delicious-smelling bowl of onion soup in front of her. She dug through the cheesy top, scooping out a dark broth. Taking the lightest sip, she let the hot, comforting broth slide down her throat and warm her insides. She was still feeling a bit ill, but not nearly as badly as before. Soup was her comfort item, and she was grateful she had been given some.

"Would you like a spring wedding?" Rufus asked then, putting down his fork and eyeing her carefully. "I know it's still a lot to take in, so the sooner we get it over with, the better."

Aerith shivered a bit, quickly setting down her spoon as well and folding her hands in her lap.

"Whatever you would like," she said, voice docile and light as she accepted that the future would continue steamrolling right toward her whether or not she protested. She pushed her bowl away, instead refilling her water goblet and taking a light sip.

"Would you like something stronger?" Rufus asked with a slight frown.

Aerith shook her head more vigorously than she initially intended.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Thank you."

They sat in a pregnant silence for a few more moments, Rufus calmly picking away at his loaded plate. Aerith stared at her water goblet, disassociating herself further from where she was at the moment. She wished she was with Kunsel. Hell, she wished she were with Zack, even if it was back in the lifestream. Anywhere would be better than this.

She didn't realize how much time had passed until Rufus gently tapped her on the shoulder gently. She started, glancing up to see he was standing next to her. His arm was extended, face a mask of politeness.

"May I have this dance?" he asked gently. Aerith took in a breath, realizing she had been in almost a trance, and she quickly glanced around them to see that the majority of others had begun to mingle again, while dinner was beginning to be cleared. Tables had been cleared away to leave an open space in front of the large centerpiece tree, and bright, slow colors were dancing their way across the floor and reflecting on its black, polished surface. A slower song was now playing.

Knowing she probably didn't have a choice in the manner, Aerith accepted his hand, leaving her scarf in her seat and following him to the dance floor. The space was empty and mingling voices dimmed as the music was turned up more. Rufus put one hand delicately on her waist and folded his other in her hand. She rested her hand on his shoulder and allowed herself to follow his lead across the floor to an easygoing waltz.

"I would speak, but I'm concerned that whatever I say is the wrong thing," Rufus murmured as he twirled her. She took an even breath, returning to their pose as she glanced quickly up at his eyes.

"It's a lot to process," she spoke finally, voice coming in almost a half whisper. "It will take some time."

"No doubt." Rufus pulled her a bit closer then, and she shuddered a bit at his touch.

"I – I think I need some air," she gasped softly. He halted instantly, putting both hands on her shoulders and leaning in to do the most affectionate thing she'd ever seen him do: he kissed her forehead.

"Very well," he said smoothly. "Would you like me to accompany you?"

Aerith shook her head. "If you don't mind, I…would like to be alone for a few minutes."

Rufus nodded and dropped his hands, grasping hers and kissing it lightly. Aerith picked up on a few "awwwws" from what she realized was now a floor full of dancers who had their eyes on them. She blushed, lurching away from Rufus and the entire charade while she made her escape. She fled out the door to the recreation hall, made it past the army of personnel in the operations center, and carefully peeked her head out to see the media room had cleared at the top of the escalators. On the other end of the room, past the glass elevators, she could see her destination and was relieved to find the door was open. Glancing left and right once to make sure she was truly alone save for a few lingering partygoers chatting in more intimate settings, she strode out the doors and marched to the open air of her personal escape.

The balcony this door led to was one she hadn't been on before, but she was familiar with the layout of the building and its similarly-structured upper floors. The open-air gated platform gave a wide expansive view of the northern side of Midgar, at least five of its impressive reactors, and the twinkling lights of the massive city below. Aerith stepped out into the cold December air, the flush from being inside the warm space and surrounded by other bodies keeping the chill out, at least momentarily. She was relieved to see she was alone. Gazing at the skyline that showed her nothing but black beyond the monumental green columns of mako energy coming from the reactors, she wondered what the world was like; what _freedom_ was like.

Aerith rested her arms on the railing, quickly losing the battle to stop tears that threatened to fall. The overwhelming dread that pooled into her heart and spread to her limbs had her trembling and sobbing within moments, as she stared down at the impossibly far drop and wondered if this would be easier than living. For a single, tense moment, it seemed a proper option. But she shook her head, angry with herself for even considering the notion. No matter what, Aerith knew as the last Cetra she owed it to her people to keep on living, to keep on protecting the planet and its people from those that would cause it harm. Fat lot of good that had done her so far.

"Champagne?"

The low, male voice cut through the chilly breeze and she quickly wiped her eyes, quieting her tears and taking in deep breaths.

"Um, no thank you," she answered shakily, voice high-pitched and not sounding at all okay. "I'm…not really in the mood for a drink."

A presence leaned against the railing near her but not too closely, facing her as they held two glasses.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, hiccupping slightly and doing her best to put on a smile as she greeted the stranger. He was a SOLDIER, smaller in stature with an uncertain expression in his baby blue and mako green eyes. He had the wildest hair she'd ever seen: a natural blond that stuck up in unnatural directions, but still managed to frame his rather delicate face.

"Thank you for the offer," she said gratefully, letting out a bashful smile as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Ugh, I probably look like such a mess."

"Are you…unhappy?" the SOLDIER asked, uncertainty lacing his voice as much as it danced across his expression.

Aerith laughed a little, leaning back on the railing and gazing out at the sky again. "You could say that," she said softly, her voice almost getting carried away in the wind. Her bare arms were beginning to recognize the freezing temperatures, and she realized she was shivering. "It's been an…unexpected day."

"You mean about the engagement."

He said it so matter-of-factly he almost sounded like Rufus Shinra for a moment. Aerith side-eyed him, startled by his intense expression. He still clutched the glasses of champagne, all but forgetting they were in his hands.

"Yeah," she sighed, happy that she didn't recognize this stranger. Getting everything off her chest was so tempting right now… "I, uh…wasn't consulted on the decision, that's all."

Aerith made a decision then, and she sank to the ground, folding her legs underneath her while the skirts of her dressed pooled out around her. She glanced up at the SOLDIER and patted the ground next to her.

"Join me," she encouraged with a soft smile and a sniffle. The SOLDIER looked alarmed for a few moments, and it was almost as if she could see the gears turning in his head. He looked utterly confused, an expression that made her giggle and forget her worries for a moment. "You must be new here," she kindly continued as he finally found the courage to join her on the ground. He set the glasses to the side, choosing to rest an arm casually on his knee while his other one supported his upper body. He faced the city but glanced out of the corner of his eyes at her as she spoke. "Most SOLDIERS don't usually have the guts to talk to me, especially now that I'm…engaged." She spat the last word like it tasted disgusting in her mouth.

"Uh, yeah," the SOLDIER replied lowly, more to himself than to her. "I'm new."

"Well, I appreciate the company, Mister SOLDIER," she said, sniffling again as she turned her gaze back to the city too. Mako reactor one sat right in front of her, spewing fine particles into the air and leaving an aurora of sorts on her eyes. "It's been a tough last few months, and tonight has just been the icing on the worst tasting cake in history. I wish I could run away to some far-off continent and live simply," she daydreamed with a small, wistful smile. "Do you have any stories of your adventures, SOLDIER? Have you traveled the world?"

All was quiet from the other, and Aerith continued smiling, not feeling the pregnant pause she had felt when around Rufus. For some reason, she seemed to sense that this person was a slow, calculated thinker, and it didn't bother her in the slightest. She just sat, feeling her breathing and her heart-rate calm as she enjoyed the evening with somebody who wasn't pressuring her to think or to speak outside of what she wanted to think or say. It was a refreshing change of pace for her.

"I'm from the country," the SOLDIER replied after a long few, hesitant moments. "I'm new to the city."

She sighed. "I wish I was new to the city," she said, turning her head slightly to face him. "Do you even know who I am?"

The question was half-heartedly hopeful, but there was recognition in his eyes.

"You're President Shinra's ward." The words tumbled quickly out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he looked surprised he had even said anything.

Aerith turned her head away again.

"Yup," she replied glumly. "That's me. Token female distraction who does the most powerful man in the world's bidding. Including marrying his son." She shuddered again, this time not just from the chill. She glanced back at the two champagne glasses. "You know, maybe I _will_ take you up on your offer." She reached for the champagne glass closer to her. She was surprised when he reached out too, knocking the glass over almost seemingly on purpose. Shards of glass flew everywhere.

"Here, have mine," he said, rushing to shove the other glass at her. Aerith frowned, watching as he seemingly nervously started sweeping up the glass shards into one pile. He ducked his head, avoiding her gaze, but she could have sworn she saw his face tinged a bit pink. Aerith took a small sip of the champagne, letting the bubbles dance on her tongue before she swallowed. The alcohol did its work quickly, releasing a bit of the tension she hadn't known she was holding in her shoulders.

"Ah, shit," the SOLDIER swore as he cut his palm on a piece of glass. Aerith set her champagne down and frowned, scooting closer.

"Here, let me see," she demanded, grabbing his wrist and practically hauling him towards her. He stumbled on his knees, mumbling grumpily to himself as he resigned himself to being looked at. The cut hadn't gone too deep, but blood was already seeping from the wound and pooling up in rapidly growing bubbles.

"I'm fine," he insisted indignantly. Aerith laughed again, loving the way he acted almost like he had wounded his pride instead of his palm.

"Here, let me help," she insisted, pulling up the folds of her skirt to reveal a simple white slip underneath. She tore at the fabric, feeling a small thrill of excitement as she did so. The thin strip of cloth ran ragged as it departed from where it had been woven, but it would do the trick.

"You didn't have to ruin your dress," he complained as she tugged at his arm, forcing his palm back open and carefully wrapping it. "I'll heal quickly."

"I know," she replied easily, knotting the fabric. "I'm not given access to any healing materia, but I can certainly do all I can to help." She sighed, finally letting his arm go. He withdrew it like he'd been stung. "It is my job on this planet, after all."

Aerith brushed down the folds of her dress, smoothing out where she had bunched it up before. She resumed her gazing, surprised at the moodiness that had overtaken her. It was true that normally she wasn't much of a crier, but the past few months had left a bit too much of a stain on her heart to let her be anything otherwise. The headstrong side of her resurfacing was actually refreshing.

"What do you mean by that?" the SOLDIER asked then, readjusting to cross his legs, glass shards momentarily forgotten.

Aerith cocked an eyebrow at him. "You really aren't from around here, are you?" she laughed. "I'm the last Cetra on the planet. Ancient, maybe?"

He shrugged, not comprehending her words.

"The Cetra lived thousands of years ago," she explained, closing her eyes and tilting her head to the sky. "The original stewards of the planet. They held a special bond with the lifestream and the planet herself. They even created materia. I'm…the last of them."

She felt a single tear slip down her cheek, but luckily it seemed like this was the last of the tears her eyes wanted to shed for now. She felt the breeze hit her face, chilling her lips and freezing the tear's track. It was getting pretty cold.

"I can help you get away."

Aerith blinked in surprise, tilting her head back down to confusedly glance at the SOLDIER. His stare was intense and dead serious.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with a quick laugh and smile.

He leaned in closer. "I can help," he insisted, blue-green orbs fierce in their in their genuine offer. "I can get you out of here."

Aerith frowned now, eyes wide. What was he saying?

Then a memory from earlier in the evening suddenly sparked at her, igniting her attention more. "Are you Avalanche?" she whispered, jerking back a little. After all, she was certain she'd met every SOLDIER in Shinra during her time here, and this face was not at all familiar.

He opened his mouth to answer. Before he could, the entire world exploded.

* * *

_Cloud_

Cloud cursed the universe when it delivered to him the absolute worst timing he could imagine. He had been _that_ close to convincing this girl to join him willingly, rather than following through with the original, cruder plan. His split-second decision to deviate from the norm had left even him with whiplash, but something about the innocence, the kindness that she emulated had given him pause.

He felt and saw at the same time the explosion he'd been bracing for since he had followed Shinra's ward outside. He saw the eruption of green and orange fighting for dominance on her the girl's – Aerith's? – face. The orange won out rather quickly as the blast of hot, rancid air hit the back of his neck with an accompanying ear-shattering sound that made him flinch.

_Shit._

Her eyes widened in surprise and fright, and Cloud watched through the mirror of her strangely familiar bright green eyes as the erupting smoke billowed up from the reactor, snuffing out the green plume of mako that had been pleasantly polluting the sky. Her hands flew to her mouth in shock, stifling a surprised scream. Cloud whipped his head around to look too, momentary shock stunning his features. Sure, he had known there would be a bit of an explosion, but – this was the _entire_ reactor. As he stared, the power in sector one flickered off in a quick flash. Even from way up here, he thought he could hear screams.

"What happened?" she asked in horror, pulling herself to her feet and gripping the railing with wide eyes. Cloud jumped up next to her, looking quickly from the reactor to her stricken face.

"I – I don't know," he said, voice hoarse.

She turned on him, a flash of anger and fear on her face.

"You don't?" she demanded, taking a purposeful step back from him to put some distance between them. She clearly wasn't trusting him now. "You're Avalanche, aren't you? Is this you?"

Cloud realized his mouth was hanging open and he shut it quickly, head spinning from trying to communicate.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," he told her, detesting the pleading that crept up in his wavering tone. "They said they were going to stop the reactor. Not…hurt anyone."

Aerith threw up her hands. "Well _they_ did anyway," she shrieked, jumping as a secondary explosion from sector eight hit them. She quickly leaned over, peering desperately at the smoke quickly obstructing the area below. "All those people… How are you okay with this?"

"I'm not," he rushed quickly before he could think. "I came here instead."

This caught her off-guard, and Aerith quieted for a moment, fiery expression dimming somewhat as she stared, transfixed, at the burning reactor. Sector eight's power flickered off for a few moments before coming back in full force. He could see small fires and smoke billowing up from the sectors surrounding the reactor.

"Why are you here?" she asked quietly this time, fear evident in her tone. "Do you want to hurt me?"

Cloud looked at her, confused. Why would she assume that? If anything, he was probably the only person here who didn't want to hurt her.

"No," he replied. "I wanted…to help." It wasn't the initial plan and Cloud knew it, but it couldn't hurt to tell the truth he'd decided on now. After all, he'd purposely knocked over the glass that held the drugs that were meant to knock her out, something that he realized with a small guilty feeling that Tifa would be upset with him over. But he had heard this girl, seen her torment and her hopelessness. He had made a decision that she could come willingly if he could provide an escape.

"I want to help you," he said again, a bit more boldly this time. "I can get you out of here and keep you safe."

Aerith's eyes were transfixed on his face now, and she was involuntarily shaking her head. "Tseng said Avalanche wanted to hurt me," she whispered, taking yet another step back. She was retreating and he was losing her. His mission was falling apart and it was all his fault.

"Shit," Cloud swore to himself, turning back to grip the railing and glare at the reactor. Connecting with people was too difficult and menial a task for him to have attempted before now. Where was Tifa? She was much better at this. "Look, I…"

He didn't get to finish, as somebody new called out to them as they advanced onto the balcony.

"Hey there princess, there you are!"

Aerith and Cloud both turned their heads to greet the newcomer, an obvious Turk with a pile of red hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail and an easy cocky grin masking obvious nervousness as his eyes darted over to the exploded reactor behind them. The Turk looked Aerith up and down as if to make sure she was okay before turning to Cloud.

"And who are you?" he asked suspiciously, fingers twitching while a mag rod dropped from where it had been hidden up his sleeve.

Cloud was caught. He knew it before he could even open his mouth. He looked back at Aerith quickly, seeing her cautious expression as she stared at him. In the back of his mind, he was thinking of all the ways he could fight his way out of here. Sure, this Turk was the only one in his way now, but chances were others were not far behind, and there was certainly no way he would be able to take the girl with him, willingly or not. Not now.

"He's a new recruit," Aerith supplied, surprising both the Turk and Cloud. Cloud's eyes widened and he studied her face. She was composing a mask now, one that he had seen on her face before when he was watching her at the party. She was clearly a good actress. But why was she protecting him?

The Turk scoffed. "Well that would explain why he doesn't know the rules," he said with a threatening undertone as he lifted the mag rod up and rested it against his shoulder. "The lady is taken, kid. You're going to get in trouble with the big man himself if you don't listen."

"It's my fault," Aerith rushed, again shocking Cloud who could barely get a word in edgewise. "It was nice to talk to somebody new for once. Please don't be mean to him, Reno."

The Turk – Reno – rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, princess," he drawled, lowering his weapon. "Prince Charming is looking for you. He wanted to make sure you were safe. But obviously, newbie here was making sure you were." Eyes narrowed on him and Cloud set his expression, narrowing his eyes at this obviously cocky son of a bitch. Something about his personality grated against his skull, making a faint, familiar headache threaten to rear its head. _Ugh, not now._

"Of course," Aerith was saying. "I'll be right in. I just wanted to say one more thing." She smiled through the worry on her face, doing her best to reassure him. Reno nodded but decided not to add any more input, turning around and stalking back to the door to wait.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Aerith was suddenly in Cloud's face. "Do you have a PHS?" she asked breathlessly, voice hard but not unkind. Cloud blinked at her, shocked at the turnaround.

"A – what?" He asked, confused. "Uh no, I don't have one."

Aerith huffed as she rummaged through the folds of her skirts, looking for something. After a few moments of an eerie calm while the fire lazily licked against the reactor behind them and the smoke began to lift to the air, dispersing as it rose, she pulled out a PHS. She unlocked it and fumbled around on it for a few moments.

"Is he watching?" she murmured as she worked. Cloud's eyes drifted over to Reno the Turk. He was watching the mangled reactor with unreadable eyes. Cloud shook his head.

Aerith handed him her PHS. Cloud looked at her in confusion, slowly reaching up to take it.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked suspiciously. Was she trying to track him back to the rest of Avalanche or something? Aerith sighed, losing her fierce composure for a few moments. Her face betrayed her true emotions, a mixture of sadness and weariness. It was as if she had visibly deflated in front of him. His chest joined the faint pounding against the back of his skull with an equally low pang.

"If you're Avalanche, then you can reach out to my friend Kunsel," she said quietly. "We're looking for some information about a friend who was killed. Avalanche said they could help. Maybe…if I can figure out what happened to him, maybe I'll take you up on your offer." Her green eyes, mingled with the orange of the flames down below, burned with a determination that nearly took his breath away. Cloud nodded and pocketed the PHS.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised. Aerith's returning smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I programmed my other number in there if you need anything. Be careful – sometimes they check my communications. Don't give yourself away."

Cloud nodded and watched as she turned around to walk to Reno. She paused, glancing over her shoulder again.

"I never caught your name, Mister SOLDIER," she said with a soft smile. He looked back at the reactor and back to her face, chest pounding a bit more.

"Cloud," he said. "Cloud Strife."

"Well, Cloud Strife, I hope to be hearing from you _very_ soon." He watched as she applied the mask to her face once more, turning back and marching like an obedient child back to its scolding parent. Reno shot a suspicious glare over her shoulder as he ushered her back inside, and Cloud sighed in frustration, hand rubbing his temple as the headache grew. He would be returning home empty and out of luck. His first mission was a complete failure.


	4. Warnings and Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is here and ready for you! Thank you as always to my friend and beta Rand0mSmil3z for taking a look at my chapters. Thanks for reading and I can't wait to hear what you think!

_Aerith_

The next morning brought with it a somber mood, accompanied appropriately by dark skies and the soft patter of cold, winter rain against her window. The lights in her apartment were all on, blazing against the dreary outside that threatened to match her mood. As she stood in the kitchen, finishing the preparations for her morning tea, Aerith found herself staring out the floor-to-ceiling window and contemplating the night before.

The window before her displayed views of the southern side of the city, which meant the now-destroyed Mako Reactor One was nowhere in her line of sight. Smoke had settled like a haze over the city below, however; it mingled with fog and blanketed the world so that all she could see were the faint, green glows from Mako Reactors five, six, and seven. Somewhere below, she could almost feel the tug of lives that were entering the lifestream once more, each leaving the lightest of sad touches on her heart before departing to the next life. Aerith almost envied them – almost.

She took her mug of steaming green tea and brought it over to the soft couch that faced the window, cupping the drink with the long sleeves of her sweater. She sank down into its plush depths, next to her second, less-used PHS, whose screen was still lit from when she had checked it a few minutes earlier. Aerith found her eyes sliding over to it again, wistful for some sign of life. Unfortunately, the only messages in the illuminated chat were hers.

_K was trying to reach me on that PHS – sorry for the influx of messages._

_You’re really part of A? Not in SLDR?_

_Don’t use full words that have anything to do with the company: they’re watching._

The SOLDIER/Avalanche man from last night had read each of the messages, this she could see by the checkmark at the bottom of each message, time stamped relatively quickly after she had sent each one. However, she had not heard a reply yet and it was beginning to make her nervous. What was she even thinking, trusting a member of Avalanche? They had destroyed a reactor and killed countless numbers of people!

Aerith sighed and took her first sip of tea, flinching a bit when the hot liquid scalded her tongue. Just her luck. She set the mug down on the waiting coaster placed atop the end table and ran her tongue against her teeth, trying to sooth the sharp sensation.

Her PHS chimed, and Aerith’s heart jolted. She practically pounced on top of the device, eager in her pursuit of finally receiving a reply. As she picked it up, her heart sank. There was no response from Cloud, the Avalanche SOLDIER, but there was a new message from Rufus, of all people. Moody now, she sighed heavily before jerking an angry finger to read it.

_Please meet me in my office. A Turk will be by shortly to collect you._

Aerith huffed and tossed her PHS dejectedly against the couch, turning her body back to the window in a childish display of annoyance. She crossed her arms and fumed for a few moments, inwardly pleased that her mournful sadness had been replaced by a stubborn side she hadn’t given life to in a long while. The party, the engagement – it all seemed so long ago already, and yet it hadn’t even been a full day since she had been hit with the news. Now Rufus was summoning her…this wouldn’t be pleasant. She sighed and disentangled herself from the couch, heading for the bathroom to try and make herself somewhat presentable.

The best thing about off days was that Aerith was free to dress as she pleased, and this at least was a small comfort to her as she admired her comfortable oversized sweater and leggings in the mirror. She would not be suffering from being cold today, _no sir._

Her hair was wild, still unkempt from when she had rolled out of bed rather unceremoniously an hour or two prior. Aerith spent a few minutes gently combing the curls and twisting the hair into a plait behind her head, securing it with a small hair tie. Then she brushed her fingers across her favorite possession, a large, pink ribbon that had been a gift to her from Zack. She felt the silky-smooth texture, savoring the memories it brought with. He had been so nice to her, and he had made her feel like the person she truly wanted to be underneath the false fronts she had grown up behind in order to appease her guardian. She gently tied it in a neat bow at the top of her head, allowing the familiar weight to relax her.

Satisfied with her appearance for the time being, Aerith exited the bathroom and headed back to the couch again, picking up her tea from the end table and trying a second sip. This time the temperature was just right, and it warmed her throat as she swallowed. She sighed, sinking back into the couch and reaching over to rescue the PHS from where it dangled at the edge of the cushions. It was silent, still devoid of any new correspondence. She slipped it into her pocket.

A knock came at the door, rapt and alert. That would be her escort up to Rufus’s office. Sighing again, Aerith downed a good portion of her tea and headed to the door to open it. On the other side this time was Rude, one of the Turks she actually didn’t mind as much since he didn’t often speak and he kept his expression neutral. He was the more tolerable of the pair that were Reno and Rude, and she was happy to see it was him.

“Come on in,” she invited politely while she carried her almost empty mug back to the kitchen. “I’m almost ready, I just need to slip some shoes on.”

Out of the corner of her eye Aerith watched as Rude slowly entered the room and stood next to the door, arms crossed as he silently waited. She finished her tea and rinsed the mug out in the sink, leaving it to soak so it didn’t leave rings. Then she padded over to the closet behind the door, grabbing a pair of boots and slipping them on over her socks.

She smiled up at Rude. “Okay, ready,” she affirmed with a nod. Rude nodded back and gestured for her to lead the way. Aerith locked her door behind her and slipped the key into another pocket, patting her PHS for good measure as she led the way back to the elevator.

Rude wasn’t one to talk much, so she found the elevator ride up to the floor under President Shinra’s enjoyable. She pulled out the PHS to check as she got a buzz, a thrill of excitement coursing through her. But it wasn’t the mysterious SOLDIER from last night, just Kunsel.

_He really doesn’t like answering,_ came Kunsel’s complaint.

Aerith hid a smile as she typed back, remembering her interaction with the man the night before. _Maybe he’s shy?_

She slipped it back into her pocket before stretching her arms behind her and leaning against them on the elevator glass.

“You need to be careful about the company you keep,” Rude said suddenly, startling her quiet experience. Aerith cocked an eyebrow at the other, but she couldn’t read his expression under his favorite sunglasses. She smiled at him and chose not to answer.

The doors slid open and Rude once again gestured for her to exit first. Aerith stepped lightly off the elevator, glancing around her on the executives’ floor. While not used often by their owners, the offices up here were reserved for the elite at Shinra. As she passed the ornate, intricate wood paneling of each door, she read the names she knew better than their human counterparts: Palmer, Reeve, Scarlet, Heidergger, and then Hojo. She suppressed a shudder when she read the mad scientists name; she had never liked the man, even though she’d known him for most of her life. Finally, at the end of the hallway read the plaque for Rufus Shinra, the Vice President of Shinra. Rude stepped around her, shoes clicking lightly against the shiny, dark floor, and he gave a curt knock.

“Come in.”

Rude opened the door and ushered Aerith inside. Aerith surprised herself as she looked carefully around the office, taking tentative steps as she did so. She had never been in Rufus’s office before, and she wasn’t surprised to see it was a smaller, less impressive version of the president’s office upstairs. Polished black floors greeted her first, distorting her reflection as she stared down. Next, her gaze traveled to the minimalist design of a couple easy shelves and a television screen pressed into a wall of black cabinets on the side wall. There was a single, dark green leafy plant in the corner that looked very out of place. Finally, her eyes found the full window framing the deep brown wooden desk in the back. Rufus Shinra sat in a large chair, eyes watching her impassively as he gazed at her over his pressed fingers. He looked so much like his father in that moment that it surprised her a little.

“Please, join me,” Rufus announced into the space, waving Rude off and pointing to the single seat in front of him. Aerith obliged, moving closer and setting herself into the chair while Rude closed the door softly behind her. The chair was quite comfortable. She folded her hands in her lap, putting on her usual polite demeanor. Rufus stared at her for a few more moments, so much so that she began to feel a bit uncomfortable.

Finally, he broke the silence. “How are you feeling after yesterday?” he asked, tone indicating this was more a formality than anything. Here, there was nobody else around.

“I wish I knew more,” she told him pointedly. “People are in pain. They’re hurting. I wish I could help.”

Rufus pushed his hands down onto the desk and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Fine,” she sighed, glaring down at her hands. “I feel overwhelmed, are you happy?”

“About the explosion? Or our engagement?”

She whipped her head back up to meet his eyes. “Both,” she replied instantly, a boldness swimming in her veins that she wondered whether it would be dangerous to voice. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop herself from continuing, “I’ve been here for most of my life, appeasing and distracting people for the president’s sake, and I guess I was hoping I would finally have earned my freedom. You know what I am, what my job is here. I can’t even go down to help the people who need it now. I’m stuck and I’m overwhelmed.”

Rufus was silent and she watched as he began to smirk a bit. She didn’t trust that expression.

“What if I said I had an idea?” he asked quietly, glancing over at his computer and then back at her.

“Like what?” she said cautiously. The last time somebody had an idea around her, it had resulted in Avalanche infiltrating the building. To say the least, she was a little wary.

“You wish to be free?” And at Aerith’s nod, he continued, “What if I said that by the end of this week, I could help you with that?”

Suspicion clouded her thoughts as Aerith thought. Rufus wanted to…help her? No, that wasn’t right. Shinra men were never helpful out of the goodness of their own hearts. In fact, she was beginning to think they were born without hearts altogether.

She narrowed her eyes at him and clenched her fists in her lap. “What do you want from me?” To say that she was beginning to be weary from being used was an understatement.

Rufus stood up, holding his hands out as if in a peace offering. “I need some information from my father,” he said plainly. “You could easily extract this information and that is all I would ask of you. At least, for now.” He went over to the window. “You’re a great asset, Aerith. When I’m running the company, I could grant you the freedom you so desperately desire.”

A light shiver ran down Aerith’s spine as he spoke. Rufus had always been a bit of a shifty sort, and although she didn’t know the full truth about why he had been sent away to Junon in the first place, she wasn’t ignorant of the rumors of a planned coup. Hearing his words now only solidified her thinking.

“Will you let me go down to sector one and help out down there?” she asked then, redirecting the subject. Perhaps with this leverage she could finally go do what her heart had been asking her to do the entire time. “With an escort, of course.”

Rufus turned around to face the window, arms relaxed at his sides as he stared down to the foggy city below.

“We need to discuss that first,” he told her. His tone had shifted, sounding a bit more accusatory.

Aerith blinked in surprise at him. “What are you talking about?” she questioned slowly.

Rufus kept looking out the window. “Perhaps you were unaware, but the person you were conversing with on the balcony yesterday is not currently registered as a SOLDIER.”

Aerith’s heart picked up the pace. Her suspicions had been more than correct; she hadn’t known Cloud after all.

“Oh?” she replied outwardly, schooling her expression and tone to match what she needed Rufus to see. He turned back around and shot a glance her way.

“It seems Avalanche has taken a keen interest in you,” he said. “Especially after the previous incident. And yes, of course I know. The Turks are mine.” Rufus waved a hand dismissively at her openmouthed surprise. “If, and I mean _if_ you were permitted to visit below, you would need protection, and not just a single escort. Two Turks is the least I ask. I can have Tseng arrange the details, if that is what you want.”

Aerith nodded her head enthusiastically, trying to ignore the rest of the details Rufus had let drop. It would only make sense that Rufus knew about her trip, and she was at least grateful he hadn’t ratted her out to his father.

“I advise you to choose better company next time,” Rufus warned her then, smirk falling for a moment as he stared at her. “The last thing we need is you sneaking off and getting hurt.” The last part felt like a jab at a child and Aerith frowned back at him, not appreciating his authoritative tone with her. But that seemed to be all he had wanted, so Rufus waved his hand and dismissed her. Aerith stood up and was surprised when Rufus held out his hand. She took it uncertainly, looking up at him in confusion. He merely led her to the door, opening it to reveal Rude waiting silently on the other side. Rufus looked at Rude and gave him one slow nod. Then he turned back to Aerith.

“I need to know my father’s schedule this week,” he said, the sudden urgency in his voice surprising her.

“I can figure that out,” she promised him. “I’ll message you what I find out.”

“If you could let me know by this evening, that would be perfect,” he murmured lowly as his eyes were drawn elsewhere. Aerith turned her head slightly to see an unpleasant sight: Professor Hojo, having just exited his office, was eyeing them with something akin to benign curiosity and dissecting glee.

She shivered a bit. “O-of course,” Aerith rushed back, looking back at Rufus. She could feel the professor’s eyes on her still. “I’ll get right on it.”

“Rude,” Rufus said then, voice carrying a bit purposefully as he addressed the Turk. “Please escort Aerith back to her room.”

Rude nodded, understanding the situation. He gently took hold of her arm. Rufus once again kissed her hand formally, putting on the show for the audience of one. He sent her a quick smirk before closing his door and sealing them into the stifling hallway.

Rude quickly guided Aerith away from Rufus’s door and down the hallway, past the grinning Hojo.

“Good morning, Aerith,” he greeted, voice grating against her ears. She didn’t answer as she allowed Rude to take her to safety. Hojo chuckled as they left the hallway and entered the elevator again. Aerith only allowed herself to properly breathe when the doors slid shut behind them, cutting off her view of the cockroach.

“Thanks,” she said gratefully to Rude, who hummed in reply as he reached towards the buttons. “Can we actually go up? I would like to speak with the president now.”

Rude changed his finger’s trajectory, sending the elevator up instead. Aerith released the tension in her shoulders as she pulled out her PHS – still no new messages. She pulled up her conversation from earlier that morning with Kunsel, who hadn’t known she didn’t have her usual PHS.

_R has some kind of plan,_ she typed out. _Not sure what’s going to happen. Keep an eye out._

The short elevator ride ended and the doors merrily chimed open to reveal the uppermost floor of the Shinra building. Aerith and Rude walked side by side along the long, dark hallway, following the red carpets that always adorned the president’s world to his expansive, over-the-top office.

President Shinra was in, to Aerith’s surprise. With the Promised Land situation well underway (of which she wasn’t privy to know details), she had assumed he would be out there. However, with a Mako Reactor blown under his nose, perhaps her guardian had decided more pressing matters were happening at home.

She approached him now, seeing public security director Heidegger standing next to his chair, pointing at one of the screens as they talked. She couldn’t catch what they were saying.

Rude fell into step behind her as she approached the desk nervously, watching as they both looked up and noticed her. Instantly, Heidegger straightened and Shinra waved away the screen’s contents. Her guardian eyed her with hard eyes.

“Yes, what do you need?” he sighed, waving Heidegger back further. He beckoned her closer. Aerith gave a quick curtsy before approaching the desk.

“I was wondering what your schedule looked like this week,” Aerith said with a polite, smiling face. A lie had concocted its way into her brain and it was pretty good – she could spin it. “You’ve been so busy lately that I thought perhaps we could visit the entertainment district when things calm down.”

Shinra frowned at her, resting an arm on the desk and placing his chin in his palm.

“’Calm down’ is one way to put it,” he let out a light joke. Heidegger chuckled behind him.

Aerith morphed her expression into one of sadness as she let the conversation play out. “I’m so sad to hear about what happened,” she said sincerely. “On such an important day, too. I was thinking the people of Midgar would benefit from seeing their leader resume normalcy in order to promote recovery and help the city return to normal.”

Shinra was still frowning, but now his eyes turned thoughtful as they gazed at her. She was inwardly relieved to see no suspicion rested in his gaze.

“Perhaps…” he said slowly. “You make an excellent point. I will be busy the next couple of days, but by the end of this week I’ll be free. Let’s plan something for then. We can bring your new betrothed with you, too. The people will be expecting it.”

Cringing inside, Aerith bobbed her head. “Of course!” she agreed. “An excellent idea.”

She had gotten what she needed. Aerith took a step back and curtsied again.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting,” she said sweetly with a smile at Heidegger, the other man whom she had never cared for. He grunted in reply. President Shinra dismissively waved a hand.

“It’s no matter,” he said as he turned his head and met Heidegger’s eyes. “Public security is important after a reactor explosion. With Avalanche and their devious partners Wutai on the loose in Midgar, it’s the least I can do.”

_Wutai?_ Aerith frowned a bit at that but didn’t press the matter as she knew it wasn’t her place. She could tell she was dismissed then, and she backed up to where Rude was waiting, thanking her guardian and leaving the room again.

As soon as she was out of sight Aerith sighed deeply. Something definitely felt off, and she couldn’t put her mind on what it was exactly.

“Are you taking me down to the city then?” she asked Rude brightly to make conversation.

He shrugged. “If Tseng asks me to,” he replied simply.

Aerith rolled her eyes. “You should come!” she encouraged as they worked their way back to the elevator. “It’ll be a good experience to help others.”

Rude shrugged again, not answering verbally this time. She beat him to the elevator button and laughed. Her PHS buzzed again as they got into the elevator.

“You’re popular,” Rude commented with an eyebrow snaking above his sunglasses. She shrugged with a smile.

“No more than usual,” she told him. “Just making friends is all. It’s nice to have people that will answer me in a conversation,” she added with a wink. Rude groaned and looked away, giving Aerith plenty of time to look over the now two messages waiting for her. Kunsel again.

_Thanks for the head’s up._

_What do I have to do to get this guy to respond? Are you sure he’s A? Maybe he’s just a dumbass._

She stifled a giggle at Kunsel’s frustration, understanding him completely. Her fingers flew across the keys, typing furiously.

_I have an idea. Give me an hour and I’ll see what I can do._

Switching messages, Aerith pulled up Rufus’s chat log and sent the information he requested back to him. With that out of the way - and her heart pounding a bit nervously at what she could be assisting him on - her fingers guided her to a new chat with Tseng.

_Rufus says I can go visit sector one to try and help out there. He said I had to have a couple bodyguards with me. I would like to go tomorrow afternoon. Does this work for you?_

Tseng’s answer came promptly and curtly, as usual.

_Yes._

“Excellent,” she said gleefully. Her plan was coming together. “Tseng is working out the details for me to go down tomorrow afternoon. Finally, freedom from this stuffy tower!” She swung her arms out, PHS clutched in one, as she brandished around the glass elevator. Rude shook his head as the ride slowed to a halt on her floor and the doors opened.

“Come on, you,” he said easily, stepping off the elevator. Aerith smiled as she walked after him, feeling a bit better for the time being as a plan slowly began to formulate in her mind. She brought her PHS back to her and opened one final chat log, the one she’d been thinking about nonstop.

_I’ll be going to sector one tomorrow afternoon. Two bodyguards. Bring me the information we requested._

_Cloud_

Cloud stared at the device on the counter for the umpteenth time, reading the new message over and over to make sure he understood it correctly. For a moment he forgot how ridiculous he looked, wearing an old shirt and jeans under a faded apron that may have once been white. He forgot the tub in his hands that was balancing carefully between the counter and his hipbone. He had been avoiding replying so far, and now he didn’t know what to do.

“Cloud,” Tifa nudged with her voice, keeping her tone light but slightly scolding. Cloud blushed a bit and broke his gaze away from the PHS to meet her eyes. She was pointing to the kitchen with a wry smile on her face. He huffed and picked the tub full of dirty dishes up again, leaving the PHS’s screen to blink off behind him.

He figured it wasn’t the worst punishment he could have been dealt for messing up their mission last night, but still, Cloud wanted to be _anywhere_ else except in the kitchen of Seventh Heaven, scrubbing dishes like he’d been doing when he first met Tifa to make some gil. No, he’d much rather put his uniform back on, strap his sword to his back, and go out and kill something.

Still, he didn’t complain, because he was still fuming at himself for messing up his job with Avalanche, and therefore losing the gil he had been counting on to stock up on supplies. Worst of all, Tifa had been disappointed in him, even if she hadn’t said it out loud. In some ways, he felt like that was the hardest thing to deal with. It felt like he’d broken a promise.

Cloud hefted the tub onto the counter next to the sink, sighing to himself in frustration as he dipped his pruned fingers back into the hot, soapy water to begin the next load of dishes. While he scrubbed, his mind wandered back to the PHS sitting on the counter behind the bar.

While he knew he had made a mistake last night, something wasn’t sitting right in Cloud’s mind. Try as he might to focus on the mission and the mission only, something about Aerith had distracted him. For all his hype and determination to be a mercenary, he had lost the disassociated edge that he had come to rely on to focus with his jobs. First of all, those green eyes of hers had seemed so jarringly familiar, they had thrown him off. Secondly, maybe champagne hadn’t been the best way to try and drug the girl, but she had seemed so sad and lonely that he could still feel a pain in his chest from it. That pain had dug its way into his mind until it had convinced him this was _not_ the way, and he’d gone and tried to…what, befriend her?

Cloud huffed again and stuffed the freshly rinsed stein in his hands into the drying rack with a bit more gusto than needed. It hit the counter and the sound of glass against metal reverberated around the room. He grit his teeth, regretting the move instantly. At least the glass wasn’t broken. He set the next one down more carefully this time, not turning around when he heard somebody approach from behind.

“Everything okay?” Tifa’s voice was cautious but light, as she had tended to talk to him when he’d suffered mental episodes back a few months ago. They had gotten better now, but he was getting tired of being treated like a kid. He dropped the rag into the soapy water and turned to face her, arms resting on the lip of the sink behind him.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Just need to be more careful.”

Tifa nodded and bit her lower lip, looking down for a moment.

“We should talk later,” she said lowly, indicating with her tone that she wanted to discuss what happened the night before. Cloud sighed.

“Okay,” he told her.

She perked up a bit, a smile flashing across her face. “Do you want to take a break? There’s something happening outside and it’s dead in the bar. I want to see what’s going on!”

Cloud, thankful for any excuse to not do this stupid job, quickly tore off his apron and grabbed his buster sword, which had been propped up next to the pantry.

“Trouble?” he asked.

Tifa shrugged. “Shinra’s involved, so maybe.”

All the more reason to bring his sword. While his uniform was back up at the room Tifa had recently gotten for him, he had his sword and that would have to do for now. He silently followed Tifa out of the back, leaning around and picking up the PHS as they passed the bar. He pocketed it for later; he would need to reply sooner or later, if not to Aerith then to that pushy SOLDIER Kunsel who kept messaging him too.

There was indeed a scuffle in the clearing, coming from the direction of some buildings to the left. A small crowd had gathered as they exited the bar. Tifa led the way to watch from the outside deck and Cloud followed, eyes narrowing as a couple of Shinra troopers chased down a shock of bright pink hair and its owner, none other than neighborhood annoyance Johnny. Of course, if anybody would be in trouble with Shinra, it’d be him.

Tifa ran down the stairs and approached the crowd as soon as the infantry arrested and dragged a complaining, shouting expletives Johnny out of sight. Cloud watched him disappear, gripping his sword and choosing to follow. He headed down the stairs, coming to a halt in front of a worried Tifa as she finished speaking with a few members of the dispersing crowd.

“We’ve got to save Johnny,” Tifa said quickly as Cloud approached. “He has his suspicions about Avalanche…and he’s a talker.”

“Don’t I know it,” Cloud growled while rolling his eyes. The guy had an incessant ability to get under his skin. If he was called ‘bro’ one more time… He nodded at Tifa to lead the way and settled in for a brisk jog behind her, determined to not let his friend’s secret get told.

The Shinra troopers brought Johnny to a restricted area. Cloud and Tifa slowly and stealthily followed behind, Tifa worrying her bottom lip more as they listened to Johnny’s answers to their demands.

“…never been anywhere near a Shinra warehouse!” Johnny scoffed as they came into earshot. Cloud looked to Tifa – it seemed her suspicions about Shinra were right. “Uh…unless it was Jessie! She jacked my ID!”

“Shit,” Tifa swore. “All he had to do was keep his mouth shut.”

“Yup,” Cloud replied grimly, glaring at the retreating backs of their targets.

“You distract the guards, I’ll… think of something,” she said lowly. Cloud nodded and ran forward, wishing more than ever that he had his armor on. He felt a bit exposed in these old clothes, but at least his sword was a comfort. He angled it downward and raced to the next gate, barging through with weapon brandished.

“Let him go,” Cloud demanded at his entrance, taking an offensive position as the troopers looked up to see him. A guard dog stood menacingly nearby, growling as it eyed Cloud.

“Who are you? The calvary?” one scoffed with a smirk. Johnny’s head perked up as he turned toward the noise, blindfolded but face shining with excitement.

“Is…is that who I think it is?” he asked, quaking nervousness in his voice giving way to relief. “Hell yeah! You guys really came to save me! Ava –”

Cloud winced as Tifa kicked Johnny where it would hurt the most. He almost felt for the guy. _Almost._

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” a trooper shouted indignantly through Johnny’s whimpering groan and subsequent curling in on himself.

But Cloud ignored Johnny’s grunts of pain; he had a job to do after all, and he brought his sword forward, swiping through air and knocking the first trooper off his feet in a grand gesture. Tifa had her gloves up next to him and she was going to town on the guard dog, mixing an impressive set of moves that momentarily stunned the animal. Cloud resumed his attack, going straight for the leader, the elite officer. He shot a quick fire spell at the man, bringing the officer to his knees while he turned to the final man. A few quick hits and final thrust and the man fell in a heap to the floor, joining his comrades. Cloud turned back to Tifa just in time to see her land a square kick to the dog’s jaw, dropping it instantly. She smiled back at him, relief shining in her face.

“Let’s get Johnny and get out of here,” she told him. Cloud nodded, lowering his weapon to his side and striding forward to meet the other man who was struggling to sit up.

“Thank you so much!” he was gushing. “I really appreciate the help!”

Cloud looked back at Tifa, who shrugged. She didn’t know what they should do with Johnny. He was a talker, after all. Cloud knelt in front of Johnny, stabbing the sword into the dirt next to him. The grin on Johnny’s face fell as he flinched.

“If you wanna live, you’ll get the hell out of town,” he threatened lowly.

Johnny bobbed his head instantly, struggling to his feet with his hands tied behind him. “Y-you got it, boss!” he promised. “You ain’t never gonna see my face again, I swear!” And then he took off, running like a scared rabbit away from the scene. Tifa frowned at him. Cloud looked back at the guards.

“We should get out of here,” he said.

“Let’s, before they wake up,” she replied nervously. They took off after Johnny who was now long gone, Cloud shooting one final glance over his shoulder at the guards. The last thing he needed to do was stir the pot, especially after last night. Hopefully they could get away with what they did and not have a retaliation.

Once they were away from the scene of the crime, Tifa slowed down. Cloud slowed too, to match his pace with hers. She looked troubled.

“Listen, Cloud,” she said. “I’ve been thinking. Are you sure you’re up for more jobs with Avalanche? If your heart isn’t really in it…” she laughed dryly. “Like my heart isn’t when it comes to hurting people, I suppose.”

“It’s a paying gig,” he shrugged. “I’ll do what’s needed. And for your mission, I wanted to be there…to help.” He put a hand on the back of his neck, feeling a bit sheepish. “I really didn’t help though.”

“Well, not yesterday, maybe,” she said with a small smile. “Barret is planning another round with another reactor tomorrow night. Maybe you can do what you do best: be the muscle and tear through the opposition?”

“If that’s where he wants me, as long as I get compensated, I’ll be happy,” he told her, and her smile widened. “Plus, this other situation with this PHS…”

Tifa frowned as he brought it out of his pocket.

“I still can’t believe that Shinra’s ward gave you that,” she said with a shake of her head. “Is she using it to sabotage us or track us?”

“I don’t think so,” Cloud responded as he opened it again. Yet another barrage of messages from this Kunsel were demanding he respond. “She wants to know what happened to a friend or something.”

“Yeah, somebody got killed by Shinra and we’re supposed to figure out how,” she sighed. “Where do we even start with that? I kinda bluffed my way into the party last night, saying I had information, but now that you have a direct line of contact…I’ve got nothing.”

“Me too,” Cloud said heavily, clearing the messages and pocketing the PHS again. “Maybe we can start with travelers to Midgar.”

“Like you?” she joked. Cloud let a small smile slip past his usually stoic demeanor.

“Like me,” he agreed. Sure, he couldn’t remember how he got back to Midgar, but surely there were other regular travelers who would know. For that kind of sleuthing…

“We’ll have to go to the upper plates,” he said out loud.

Tifa pressed her lips together and slowly nodded. “I think you’re right,” she agreed slowly. “But how are we going to get up there?”

“Like regular people?” he offered. “We don’t need to hide our identities for this. Shinra’s ward – Aerith – is going to sector one tomorrow afternoon. Maybe we talk to her before we join up with the reactor gang.”

Tifa pursed her lips further, contemplating.

“Well, she won’t trust me, that’s for sure.” She sighed. “We tried to get her a few months ago. That was the same day I ran into you, actually – we had gotten wind she frequented an old church and were scoping out the place when she literally wandered into our search. I’m not sure if she saw me, but I don’t want to scare her if you think she’ll join us willingly.”

“Call it a hunch,” Cloud said. “I’m not sure of anything, but she’s miserable up there. She doesn’t seem to be a willing participant in anything.”

“If you say so,” Tifa said uncertainly. “Well, let’s head back to the bar and figure out what’s what. We don’t need to tell Barret about our…side operation.”

Cloud nodded in agreement, pulling the PHS out again to finally key in his first response, which of course, was to Aerith.

_Count me in._


	5. Unhelpful Help and a Coffee Shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving, my American friends! I hope you all have a safe, healthy holiday weekend no matter where you are.
> 
> This chapter follows the age-old premise of "if you can't think of something to do, throw it in a coffee shop." And I think it worked really well! The interactions between Cloud and Aerith in this chapter are my favorite so far. Thank you for following, reviewing, and enjoying. I hope you enjoy this chapter!! Thank you as always to my best friend and beta, Rand0mSmil3z!!!!!

_Aerith_

The still-unfamiliar jolting and bumping of being on a train for the second time in Aerith's life had her stomach in knots, but at the same time she felt a small sense of freedom in this new mode of transportation. Seeing as how she had been accustomed to flying by helicopter before now, the agility of the train as it zipped through tunnels and barreled towards her sector one destination felt like a speeding bullet and pumped adrenaline into her veins. However, that also may have just been her anticipation at other activities planned for the afternoon.

Aerith was feeling a bit exposed this time in the city, both due to her not hiding her identity and also because she was with a proper escort. Tseng himself and a new Turk recruit named Elena were sitting on either side of her in their best black suits, which obviously marked them as infamous Turks. She herself was wearing practical clothes for the important occasion: a light jacket over a green sweater, dark jeans, and a pair of sturdy boots that felt more comfortable and supportive than any pair of heels had ever been. Lyla, her hairstylist, had insisted she give Aerith a proper working updo, so her hair was once again up in a sleek high bun and hair chopsticks marked the crown of her head. It was probably a little over the top, but seeing as how she was going into the public eye this time, she had probably best look the part.

Faces were staring at her in wonder as she sat up straight, trying her best not to be jostled by the movement of the train. She offered a tentative smile at a couple children who were gaping open-mouthed at her.

" _Mommy, is that princess Shinra?_ " one sweet little girl asked, tugging at her mom's pants leg. The mom blushed but nodded quickly. Aerith smiled at the girl, trying to ignore the turning in her stomach intensify at the idea of being addressed as proper Shinra 'royalty.'

"Here we are," Tseng said smoothly as the train announced its arrival and slowed. "We will be only a step behind you. Be careful."

"Thank you," Aerith said, smiling back at Tseng as she stood. "And welcome to the team, Elena!"

The new Turk blinked in surprise but nodded with as serious an expression as she could muster. Aerith then led their mismatched team off the train and straight into a disaster recovery zone.

The atmosphere outside the train dropped onto her like a bomb, and Aerith could only stop and stare, stunned speechless at the shellshocked movement around her. While the station itself seemed intact, she could make out in the distance twisted buildings, shattered glass, and concrete rubble. People departing the train with her joined the throng of stony faced and weary residents who looked like they were collectively carrying the weight of the event on their shoulders. Even the air felt heavier down here. A thick cloud of hazy smoke clung to the air and her face, traveling down her nose and into her lungs. She let out a quick cough as she adjusted.

"Get some masks," Tseng ordered behind her, and she turned to watch Elena stride over to a first aid tent set up for triage nearby. That would be a perfect place for her to start. Aerith followed the Turk, eyes on the small group of people that were being helped. As she approached, her eyes focused specifically on a young teenage boy whose leg was stretched out while Shinra nurses attached a splint to it.

"You need to be careful around the debris," an older woman was scolding the teen while a nurse clasped the splint shut and gave it a quick tug to make sure it was secure. "We don't know if it's stable or not."

The boy looked dejectedly down at his leg. "I'm sorry," he murmured. Aerith decided to approach, putting on the best outer public appearance she could muster.

"Excuse me," she interrupted kindly, kneeling next to the boy and softly smiling. "Are you okay?"

The boy and the older woman both stared at her, agape, and Aerith patiently waited as they processed her presence. While she didn't normally get the opportunity to mingle with people in the city, she had no doubt the majority of them at least knew her face from the media, and this seemed to ring true as emotions flitted across their faces.

"Uh…yeah," the boy said after a few moments, sitting up a bit straighter and adjusting his leg. "I'm okay."

Relieved, Aerith replied, "I'm glad. Please be careful. It seems very dangerous here."

He nodded, gulping for a moment. Aerith felt a pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see Tseng draping a mask over her shoulder. She accepted it gratefully and put it on, finding breathing through the disposable material not entirely pleasant but better than the ashy alternative.

She left the tent and began to move through the rubble, walking carefully as she stepped around broken chunks of concrete, scatterings of red bricks, and other strewn debris. A flurry of attention caught her gaze and she watched, transfixed, as a bunch of people swarmed around a fire that had broken out and doused it with buckets of water. There was a grim determination here, one that Aerith found seeped into her very bones and took up residence in her head, resulting in her forcing smiles more and more. Everywhere she went, people stopped and stared at her. A few took out phones to snap pictures. The media would love this. _President Shinra will eat up the positive publicity,_ she thought bitterly.

Inside, Aerith wished she could _do_ more. Walking around, offering words of encouragement, and scoping the range of damage felt like mere pebbles in an ocean of despair and discouragement that she would never be able to fight. Instead of having the ability to heal people, the strength to move debris, and the feeling of being useful, she was stuck as she had always been: watching from afar as others struggled around her.

Under the canopy of the overhang for a boarded-up shop, Aerith paused and pulled out her PHS. Rain was beginning to softly fall, making the misery of the day even more prominent. She wiped a quick tear from one eye and flicked into her messages, scrolling until she found her latest correspondence with Cloud Strife.

_Where do you want to meet?_

His words were simple and yet left a thrill of adrenaline course through her veins. The rather impulsive decision she had made to trust this obvious member of a terrorist group was about to pay off. She looked around quickly, scoping out what was around.

 _Sector One coffee shop on the corner of Corel Street, near the train station,_ she replied with a flourish of her thumbs. She gripped the PHS in one hand and turned around, removing the mask and taking a deep breath as she faced her companions.

"I'm meeting up with somebody," she announced unceremoniously, smiling uncertainly in Tseng's direction. He nodded once, a single eyebrow quirked, but did not reply. Aerith, pocketing her PHS and mask, stepped back out of the safety of the overhang and immediately felt the soft, chilly patter of rain against the bare skin of her face. It seeped into her jacket as she broke into a light jog, her goal to reach the shop before getting soaked moving further from fruition with each passing second. The heavens had really opened now, sending a torrent of water streaming over her face. She watched as everywhere people dashed for cover inside buildings and under canopies made of debris and cloth alike. The sudden onslaught of rain could easily have been more depressing, but she felt light-hearted to see people gasping in a happy surprise at the promise of a past washed away. Drenched faces and shining eyes spoke volumes as she dashed past them and finally reached her target: the now-occupied canopy of the waiting coffee shop. A small sign advertised it being open with the first cup of coffee free to all patrons during the disaster. She smiled at the sign, nudging her way through the gaggle of people and slipping inside the door.

Instantly, the calming scent of coffee wafted over her, relaxing the tension in her shoulders as she looked about herself. The shop hadn't been fully spared from the reactor explosion – Aerith noticed that quite a few glassware on the shelves were broken, cracked, or missing altogether, and the expressions on the workers' faces, while pleasant, bore that same bone-tiredness that disaster recovery brought – but the atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming nonetheless. And the place was _packed._ A line snaked through the cozy two-person tables and right to where she had entered. Most tables were taken already. She inwardly hoped she wouldn't be stuck standing and talking to Cloud Strife, especially if his news was detailed. She stepped forward and got into line, shaking out her dripping wet sleeves and tucking the stray, drenched strands of hair that had fallen from her updo behind her ears.

"Want anything?" Aerith called out over her shoulder to the Turks she knew weren't far behind. She turned her head and met Elena's eyes with a smile. Elena looked uncertainly at Tseng, who shook his head once. He seemed distracted, his eyes drifting over to the window and remaining fixed there. Aerith took that as a no and turned back to the progressing line, stepping forward to get her drinks.

Luckily not too many people had noticed it was her just yet in the shop, for which she was grateful. While the obvious signs of distress wore on the faces of all inside, the soft, jazzy music that played from a jukebox in the corner set a calm, relaxed ambience that was infectious after the depressing walk outside. Aerith found herself humming a bit as she kept one hand gripped on her PHS in her jacket pocket and the other tapped against her thigh. No responding buzzing yet, but it wasn't like this man was much of a communicator in the first place.

She was nearing the front when the bells chimed as the door opened, announcing another newcomer into the din from the pouring auditory welcome mat of the outdoors. The door slid shut moments later, dulling the pattering of rain once more. Aerith looked back at the door, relief and excitement springing up as she recognized the familiar untamed locks of blond hair drooping under the excess moisture that clung to them and dripped down his bare shoulders.

Aerith was about to wave him over when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Tseng had shifted from his stance against a back wall, eyes narrowing in recognition. _Shit._ Cloud Strife's eyes found hers and he nodded once, his expression unreadable. She urgently gestured him towards her, aiming to keep as much distance between him and Tseng as possible in this public space. When he started forward uncertainly, she whipped her PHS out and brought up Tseng's name.

_I'm meeting him. Please don't tell R, not yet. Give me some time. Trust me, please._

She sent the message and her eyes darted up to make sure he received the message. Tseng was eyeing her with suspicion now, and he pulled his device out quickly to read her message. Aerith could almost see him internally rolling his eyes, but at least externally he kept his composure. He gave her a glaring, curt nod that made his answer clear: _fine, but you're making a mistake._

Aerith smiled thankfully at him as she made her way to the front of the line, a dripping wet Cloud Strife falling into step next to her.

"I'll take a mocha, please," she requested politely with a radiant smile. She turned slightly to him. "What would you like?"

Cloud looked put on the spot and he shook his head quickly while crossing his arms, flinging beads of water around almost like a wet dog. She rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Nonsense, my treat," she insisted. When he further didn't give an answer, she turned back to the cashier with a smile. "Two mochas then."

The cashier was staring with her mouth agape, having just realized who was in front of her. Aerith laughed awkwardly, sliding some gil over the counter. This restarted the cashier's brain, and her mouth snapped shut and she quickly took the money. Aerith waved for her to keep the change as she smiled generously and wandered over to the pickup station.

"Will you go get us a seat please?" she asked politely of the other, who still looked a bit uncomfortable at her ordering for him. He nodded with a soft grunt and uncrossed his arms, scanning the room for a table and striding over to lay claim to it. Aerith accepted the two steaming mugs of mocha – one had a chip in the top that she politely didn't notice – and brought them over to the table, which was shoved against the wall and offered the slightest bit more privacy than one located in the middle of the room would. Cloud was standing awkwardly next to the table after removing a gigantic, over-the-top sword from his back and leaning it against the wall. He crossed his arms again as she slid a mug over to his side and sat herself down across from him.

"Come on, silly," she said. "What is it with you and sitting?"

Cloud shifted uncomfortably for another moment, made an internal decision, and joined her at the table with an annoyed sigh. She raised an eyebrow at him, pulling the chipped mug to her lips and blowing on the contents. She studied his expression, his uniform, his everything, and cross-referenced it with what she knew SOLDIERs to be like.

As she watched, Aerith realized that there was no way this man could really pass for SOLDIER. For one, he was pretty small in stature and height, although his serious expression seemed to be a defense mechanism to make him appear bigger than he was. He was antsy, too – _kind of like Zack used to be,_ she thought softly to herself. Zack had always wanted to go, go, go, and it was a rare occasion for him to sit himself down in a chair and enjoy a conversation without some kind of physical activity to accompany him. The thought of Zack made her smile.

"So, Mister Cloud Strife," she said slowly with a careful sip of her hot beverage, "what do you have for me?"

Discomfort flashed across his features, and Cloud looked down at his own mug. She could see him internalizing thoughts again, compiling the words he would choose to say. She set her mug down and waited in the cheerful atmosphere of the shop.

"We're looking," he finally spoke up in a low voice, eyes darting around to nearby tables. Everybody was engrossed in their own conversations and for the time being, anonymity was on Aerith's side. "We may have a lead who claims to have seen a big fight happen outside of town."

Aerith leaned forward, folding her arms in front of her and resting them on the table. "And this was back in September?" she asked cautiously. He nodded.

"He's a farmer. He visits town every few months to stock up on supplies. He was telling some pretty crazy stories, according to my source." Cloud frowned a bit. "Apparently, we can find him in Wall Market until the end of the week. He…unwinds there," he added with a grimace. Aerith giggled, understanding the implications through various message board threads she'd come across in the past.

"When can we see him?" she asked, picking the mug up again and taking a big sip – burning her tongue a bit in the process. _I really need to stop doing that,_ she winced inwardly.

Cloud's expression closed off more, and she realized he was guarding something else – something he wasn't telling her. "I can't now," he said. "Not today."

"Neither can I," she joked as she thrust a thumb over to point out the out-of-place Turks up against the wall. Cloud, who seemingly hadn't noticed them, glanced over. Alarm spread across his face. Aerith reached out to touch his arm, resting her fingers gently on his glove. He started and looked at her.

"It's okay, they're on their best behavior," she promised. "I can't guarantee this will look good for me back up _there,_ " she jerked her head up towards where she knew the Shinra building was looming above them, "but for now Tseng promised to trust me."

Cloud looked at her cautiously, his eyes darting between hers and shifting back over to the Turks. He was clearly on edge now. "Okay," he said unconvincingly.

"Relax," she insisted. "Drink some of your mocha!"

Cloud looked down at the artful brown liquid in the mug in front of him, uncertainty on his face. He slowly picked it up by the handle, sniffed it curiously, and then took the lightest of sips. He made a face, which made Aerith laugh out loud.

"Never had coffee before?" she joked, grinning at his clueless expression.

"Nope," Cloud answered.

Her laughter died and she frowned a bit at him. "Never?" she insisted. "Not even when as a SOLDIER?"

Cloud shrugged noncommittally, setting the mug back down and studying the woodgrain tabletop. This made Aerith think more about the differences between him and the SOLDIERS she knew – for one, they lived on coffee with their ridiculous schedules. Secondly, they kept their uniforms in much better shape than this one was. In fact, Cloud's uniform looked faded and just plain _old._

"Cloud, which class are you?" she asked carefully, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as the other still gripped her mug. Cloud looked up at her.

"First," he replied easily, glancing back at his sword. Aerith followed his eyes and realized that she _knew_ that sword – not well but well enough. She gasped a bit, chair scraping back against the floor as realization dawned on her. That was _Zack's_ sword.

Cloud was looking surprised, following her stare back to the sword.

"Are you okay?" he asked, confused. Aerith put a shaking hand to her mouth, memories dredging up from their vault in the back of her mind from five years prior. Zack, inheriting the sword from his First Class mentor Angeal Hewley upon his death; Zack torn apart by how he got the sword; Zack, swearing to only use the sword sparingly to keep the sword clean. It didn't look very clean now. In fact, it looked rusty and dirty.

"Where did you get that sword?" she asked breathlessly, leaning forward again and staring at him. His eyes, baby blue swimming in a pool of intense green mako, narrowed a bit as he thought.

"I can't remember exactly," he said with a shrug. "I've had it as long as I can remember being in SOLDIER."

A shadow fell over their table then, and Aerith glanced up quickly to see Tseng standing there, eyes studying her face.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked smoothly, directing the question to her. Behind him, Elena was still up against the wall, eyeing them with distrust.

"No, everything is fine," she replied, a bit shakily but otherwise confidently. "Thank you for your discretion."

Tseng frowned at Cloud, who was looking defiantly back, eyes blazing as he stared. "You have five more minutes," he instructed shortly, eyeing Cloud. "Afterwards, the president's ward will be returning home safely and _alone_."

"Of course, Tseng," she interjected, shooing him away with a hand as she realized that people had noticed the commotion and were beginning to realize she was there. Tseng hovered for a few more moments before stalking back to his original spot against the wall. She sighed heavily, bringing her hands back around her mug and staring at the drink.

"They know you're not currently in SOLDIER," she told him under her breath. "Rufus warned me yesterday to be careful whom I hang out with. Tseng isn't happy I've asked him to keep our meeting quiet."

There was a pause where he digested what she said.

"Have they…hurt you?"

Cloud's line of questioning was softer than she was used to, and Aerith looked up sharply. His face was unreadable, a slightly more pronounced frown gracing his features as he met her eyes. He was _concerned_ , she realized with a start.

"No, of course not," she replied quickly. "They don't hurt me. At least not physically. If anything, being with the Shinra family has kept me from further harm." She offered a tentative smile, but this seemed to make him only more perplexed.

"Further harm?"

Aerith sighed, looking down. "Professor Hojo," she explained simply. "He was holding my mom and I when I was little. We tried to escape…and she didn't make it." The rush of emotions that flooded into a pit in her stomach reminded her of the loss she still felt to this day. She took a slow sip of her mocha. "President Shinra brought me in as his ward, and it's by his decision I don't have to deal with more than simple, non-invasive tests by Hojo. I have him to thank for that, really." She smiled wryly into her drink.

Cloud didn't answer, and she hazarded a glance his way – his face was scrunched up a bit, hand pressed against his temple as if fighting off a bad migraine.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently. It took a few moments, but Cloud slowly lowered his hand and met her gaze. He nodded.

Time was running short now, she knew. Aerith pulled her PHS out and set it out in front of her. "Let's meet up tomorrow at Wall Market," she said with a small grin. "I may have to pull some strings to sneak out, but I think I have a plan."

He frowned at her – an expression she was quickly realizing was his trademark.

"Isn't Wall Market dangerous?" he asked. "Should somebody like…you…go there?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she giggled, winking at him. His face turned a bit pink. "I can hold my own, thank you very much! Just send me a message tonight what time works best for you and I'll meet you there."

"Okay," Cloud answered uncertainly. He absently picked up his drink and sipped it again, before remembering he didn't like it and made a face. "This is disgusting."

"It isn't for everybody," she laughed, finishing hers and standing up. "Maybe start replying to my messages a bit more?"

He looked down at her PHS on the table for a moment. "Okay."

"You really aren't the best with words, are you?" she chastised gently, offering a small smile as she scooped up the PHS and stuffed it back in her slowly-drying jacket pocket. "Thank you for meeting me, Cloud. You're very refreshing to be around."

He opened his mouth but then closed it again, eyes a bit wide in surprise. He gave her one more curt nod, setting his mug down and standing up. He reached for his sword.

Aerith felt a tug at her elbow and turned to see Tseng there, lips pressed in a thin line as he eyed Cloud warily.

"Time to go," he ordered.

Aerith sighed dramatically, waving with an apologetic smile to Cloud. "Thank you again," she said sincerely from over her shoulder as she was whisked away. Tseng led her through the crowded coffee shop of frantic whispers as she passed, steering her outside and away from the comforting smells and sounds and into a less intense version of the rainfall she'd entered the coffee shop with.

"That was highly irresponsible of you," he murmured as he pulled her along back to the train station. "The vice president will not be happy about this."

"Well, maybe you don't have to tell him?" she asked sweetly, giving him her best innocent expression.

Tseng didn't break composure. "Of course I do. He's my boss. Besides, more than one camera caught your little encounter. It will reach his desk sooner or later."

"I know," she huffed, pulling her arm out of his grasp. She walked moodily next to him. Of course there were always cameras around, and hoping for some privacy on a public outing had been stupid of her to think would be possible.

"Aerith…" Tseng started lowly as they approached the train station.

"What?" she shot back, a bit snappier than she initially meant. Tseng slowed next to an empty bench, gesturing for her to sit. She did, surprised when he sat next to her.

"I want you to listen," he said lowly, in a voice that almost promised concern. Her mind was taken back to that evening in the church when he had kept her safe with a similar exterior. He had that same eerily calm voice now. "You need to tread carefully. You don't want to end up in the middle of a war that would leave you homeless and unsafe."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, frowning at him. Tseng's expression, as always, was a vault of secrets.

"Just don't do anything rash," he cautioned.

Aerith sighed, her mood dampening once again due to exposure to the dreary outdoors. She would be wet on her trip back up to the surface, but hopefully she did some good publicity-wise and the café situation would be old news. Rufus wouldn't be happy, but she knew both her and Tseng weren't necessarily thinking about _Rufus's_ reaction to her misbehavior.

She had to accept the consequences – that's all she could do now. And maybe, once plans were set more in motion…she would have a better opportunity to seek the freedom she so desperately desired.

* * *

_Cloud_

The path back to Tifa's waiting spot was too busy for his liking. Cloud gripped the to-go cup in his hands, wishing he could stomach the coffee drink that Aerith had purchased for him, because then maybe the warm liquid would help him feel a bit better against his chilly, drenched clothing. He felt like a wet cat and he was _not_ happy about it.

As he walked farther away from the destroyed reactor, the sector began to look cleaner and the people began to look a bit more alive. The gaunt faces of grief gave way to sympathetic smiles and cheerful greetings as he walked along, trying his best to remember which alley Tifa was waiting in. Luckily, he found her on his first try, and he internally commended his ability to remember at least these details.

Tifa was relaxing on a crate, legs crossed as she looked around warily. She was alone, but she perked up as he approached. "How did it go?" she asked anxiously, only to look confused as he handed her the drink. "What is this?"

"Mocha?" Cloud shrugged. "Not a fan."

Tifa smiled and accepted the drink, taking a quick sip from the slit in the lid. She closed her eyes. "This is exactly what I needed," she said happily, taking a longer drink. "Thanks, Cloud!"

"Don't thank me," he said. "Aerith bought it."

Tifa narrowed her eyes as she stood up from her crate and began to lead the way to their next destination.

"So it's _Aerith_ now, is it?" she joked lightheartedly, but some other emotion he couldn't quite place was simmering underneath. Cloud shrugged again, not feeling that warranted an answer. Instead, he answered he previous question.

"It went okay," he said. "She had Turks with her."

Tifa hummed in thought as she dipped out of the alley and onto the main street. Cloud followed her, adjusting his sword quickly as he did so. People paid them no mind, but he was still wary at being surrounded.

"Does she want us to go to Wall Market?"

"Yup," he answered. "She wants to meet us there tomorrow."

Tifa narrowed her eyes and swung her head – long, black hair arching gracefully over her shoulder – to face him.

"The president's ward wants to _join us_?" she asked incredulously.

"That's what she said," he answered. "She was pretty insistent, too. She wants me to send her a message tonight detailing where and when to meet."

Tifa groaned. "I can't keep going behind Barret's back like this," she complained. "He already didn't trust you as an ex-SOLDIER, and now we're getting into bed with Shinra's ward. We need to be careful, Cloud!"

"I know, I know," he huffed. He let silence linger in the air as he followed Tifa along the tall walking path that stretched over the 1-2 expressway. The sector two upper plate train station stood glimmering in the distance as its marvelous ceiling of windows reflected caught raindrops back to the clouds. Beneath their feet as they walked, Cloud felt the rumble of vehicles race to their destinations, mixed against a slew of honking horns and road traffic noise. If he had time to pause, he knew he would feel the trains snaking below as well. Today, however, he did not have that time.

Midgar was vastly different than the life he had grown up knowing. As he glanced at Tifa from the corner of his eye, he wondered if she found it just as startling up here in the upper city as he did. After all, he was pretty sure his SOLDIER days weren't spent too often in the big city. Before the last incident his brain remembered for five years, he thought he could remember being in Junon for awhile, as well as a brief stint in some kind of icy place he couldn't remember the name of. He wondered if he was developing some early-onset Alzheimer's or something – not remembering was very frustrating.

"What's the plan again?" he asked her as they reached the halfway point and began angling back down across the other half of the expressway. Tifa sipped her mocha.

"We'll catch the train here and meet up with Barrett in the tunnels down below," she said. "From there, we'll make our way to the underside of the reactor. You said this layout was a bit newer than the last one?"

Cloud nodded. He may not have known the exact layout, but deep in the recesses of his brain he'd pulled out a source for the reactor numbers: the lower the number, the older the reactor. It just made sense that reactor five was newer than reactor one.

"Are you nervous?" he asked her.

Tifa laughed a little, sounding a bit hoarse. "A bit," she admitted. "I understand why we need to do something, but I don't like hurting people."

Cloud remembered her admission of feeling trapped the other day and wordlessly reminded himself that the broad mission was to keep his promise, even if the smaller mission was to go along with Avalanche once more. At least he was getting paid again…no more scrubbing dishes for awhile.

"What's next after tonight?" he asked her then. Tifa shrugged.

"We celebrate?" she replied, sounding unsure. "One step at a time, I guess. If we can get Shinra's ward on our side and pull off bringing down two reactors, we may have a fighting chance at saving the planet."

Cloud grunted his agreement, inwardly conflicted. He could see where Avalanche and its passionate leader, Barret, were coming from, but as he looked around himself at the hustle and bustle of city, he wondered if destroying reactors was the right way to go about doing such a thing.

He unconsciously gripped the PHS in his pocket. Were his helping Avalanche and trying to help Aerith at the same time going to cause conflict? He hadn't been blind; when she had been practically dragged out of the shop by that Turk, people had noticed. They had taken photos. They had whispered and conversed, all sharing the same questions about who Cloud was and what they had been doing there. Cloud felt bad for the girl's lack of privacy, especially when she had such a positive, upbeat personality. Her bright green eyes were also much too trusting for his liking. Then, of course, something about that Turk had rubbed him the wrong way too – he chalked it up to his recent mischief, but in the back of his mind, Cloud didn't believe that for one moment.

They stepped off the walking bridge and finally found themselves in sector two. Tifa led the way to the train station, which would take them to the next destination in their journey. Tonight, after rendezvousing with Barret, they were in for an evening filled with battles, strategy, and unexpected separation.


	6. More Hindrance Than Assistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! I had some fun taking from Remake for some scenes in this chapter. I'm happy to report I'm twice as far in chapters as this fic, so I'll be continuing to send them your way every Friday for a long while! As always, an incredible thank you to my best friend and beta Rand0mSmil3z for taking the time to help polish my writing. She's the greatest!

_Aerith_

Aerith woke up _pissed._ The dream she had been having was rapidly fading already, but something about it left a sour taste in her mouth and made her feel defensive. There had been something about a fight, some sort of panic, and an abrupt falling sensation that was almost overshadowed by a leering, angry, determined presence that felt like poison in her mind. She pushed the covers off her warm body and swung her feet to the side of the bed, stomping her way over to the kitchenette to serve herself some morning tea. As she walked, she noticed yesterday's stiff clothing, dry from the rain but coated in a thin layer of ash that had welded itself to her jacket and pants. She sighed heavily, mood worsening, and set about preparing the kettle with water.

Cloud hadn't messaged her last night. This was the fact of the matter, and it was one of the main reasons she was in such a poor mood. Despite his agreement to do as such, her PHS had sat there, silent and unmoving, at least until the newsworthy explosion that had rocked her from bed and made her rip open her curtains with a new, bleary horror.

Reactor five was _gone._ In its place was a fiery torpedo of green and red, shooting black, thick smoke into the sky. Aerith glared out the open curtains at the cheerfully sunny morning, the bright sky accentuating the twisting, smoking ruins of the reactor. If she had to put a finger on it, she guessed that Avalanche had done more terrorism.

As the kettle began simmering the water, Aerith heard a buzz from her PHS back on her nightstand. She practically flew across the room to grab it, disappointment evident on her face when she saw the message was from Kunsel.

_Did your new friends do this?_

She sighed angrily and gripped the PHS tightly, stalking back over to the couch and plopping down. A headache was blooming behind her eyes, trying to gently remind her that she needed to lower her stress levels. She didn't want to lose this negativity, however, and she pulled her PHS back up to reply.

_They're not my friends,_ she immediately typed, _and probably. They never got back to me yesterday._

She punched out the last of the message and flicked the send button, tossing it on the couch before heading back to prepare the teabag. Her timing was excellent – the kettle had begun eliciting its telltale high pitched signal right as she pulled it off the stove. With her freshly brewing tea in hand, Aerith went back to the couch to stare at the reactor – or rather, the _lack_ of reactor . The PHS buzzed again.

_I got a weird message from my A contact. They're asking for your contact information. Can I give it to them?_

She sighed, setting the cup down. _Fine,_ she typed in response, though Kunsel's message had her frowning. Why would they need her contact information? Cloud already had it in the PHS she had given him…unless he had lost it or it was destroyed in their endeavors?

Nothing was making sense and Aerith's mood wasn't improving. She headed over to her closet and threw on some easy clothes for the day – a pair of comfortable black leggings and a gray sweater. After dressing, she ran a brush carefully through her hair and gathered it into a ponytail at the top of her head. Tying her favorite pink ribbon at the top, she felt ready enough for the day.

After finishing her tea and waiting impatiently for further correspondence from either Kunsel or a random member of Avalanche, Aerith decided she needed to get out. Her hands were itching to do something, and as she stuffed her PHS in her pocket, she resolved to find a solution. Pulling boots on and leaving her apartment, she headed down the hallway – past the long-empty First Class SOLDIER rooms – to the executive section. Rufus was sure to be here.

The executive section was upscaled in a more tasteful, modern version of the boring hallway that held her room. She hadn't been to Rufus's apartment in years, not since they were both younger. Nevertheless, like muscle memory she stopped outside the unmarked door and tapped her knuckles against the knocker three loud times. Movement shifted slowly on the other side, but before long the lock was slid off and the door opened to reveal Rufus gazing down at her, trademark impassive expression on his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

She frowned at him. "I want to punch something," she told him matter-of-factly, anger licking at her insides. Rufus raised an eyebrow, but then sighed and opened the door wider.

"Come in then," he said, his expression exasperated as he ushered inside. She stomped in and crossed her arms, trying to keep the angry side up – she was beginning to recognize she was being childish, but she didn't care.

Rufus's apartment was large, just as minimalist as his office, and looked barely lived in. The only obvious signs of life from the room were the percolating coffee on the stove, a single mug set in the middle of a concrete island countertop, and a throw blanket laying haphazardly on his plush, white sofa that faced a muted tv showing the morning news. His apartment was just as nice as she remembered.

"Is now the appropriate time for childish tantrums?" he asked as he smoothly pulled the percolator from the stove and poured coffee to the brim of his cup – he took his drink black. Aerith's frown deepened.

"Furthermore," Rufus continued as he carried his mug into the living room, sitting in the space he had obviously abandoned when he answered the door, "do you have a right to be angry after the stunt you pulled yesterday?"

Aerith stopped, anger evaporating as she stared at him. _He knew._

Rufus patted the couch next to him, not in an endearing or encouraging way, but more because he wanted her closer.

"Come," he ordered. "See what your new acquaintance was up to last night."

He was looking at the tv and her eyes followed his to stare at the news. She found her feet bringing her towards the living room as her eyes widened.

There, as plain as day, was drone footage of the same person that had been on her mind all night. His eyes were narrowed in defiance as he glared at the camera. The drone footage next focused on the face of a strangely familiar woman, with sleek, jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail in the small of her back. Finally, an absolutely huge presence of a man with a large _gun_ for an arm was shouting muted expletives at the camera. The news flashed to other footage of bodies sneaking through a fence and inside vents as they infiltrated the reactor. Finally, it cut to different angles of a long, fiery battle between the three and some kind of robotic monster. In the corner of the screen, a box with Wutai's symbol announced Shinra's decision on the matter. Aerith gasped a little, putting a hand to her mouth.

Rufus's voice suddenly cut through her rapid thoughts. "Do you want to tell me what you were doing with a Wutai spy yesterday in sector one?" he asked. His voice was calm and cool, but Aerith couldn't rip her eyes from the tv as it showed other angles of the reactor break-in and subsequent sabotage. She followed every moment that the camera showed Cloud, from when he had first snuck in, to his part in the battle against the mech. The way he moved with his sword was purposeful and graceful, almost like he was dancing with it as he sliced cleanly and thrust to destroy his foe. She was transfixed.

"Aerith."

She tore her eyes away and frowned at Rufus, who was staring at her.

"Why did you meet with a Wutai spy?" he asked her coolly.

The earlier panic at being found out so soon had faded somewhat, and Aerith's mind worked in overtime to try and process Rufus's current question on the table. Her heart pounding in her chest as she turned her back on the television, she replied with a shrug, "No reason." The elusiveness in her answer had even her cringing, so she continued while walking back to the kitchen, "I liked talking to him." That wasn't a lie, at least. And she was still on her mission to find answers about Zack's death, so the more outside the strong arm of Shinra she looked, the better a chance she would get those answers. If this man – Wutai Spy, SOLDIER, Avalanche, whomever he was – was the person that could help her get those answers, then so be it.

"If you're not careful, you'll get on the president's bad side. You know what will happen if you do," he reminded her calmly. Aerith, back turned away from Rufus, paled a bit. Yes, she knew what would happen. Hojo would have more control. She clenched her fists to hide the shaking that had begun to pick up.

She didn't hear him approach, but Aerith started when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around to see Rufus standing there, pity evident on his face.

"If you want to punch something, follow me," he instructed, hand leaving her shoulder as he turned around to follow a hallway cutting a path through his apartment. Aerith had never gone beyond the living room before, and she hesitated momentarily before choosing to follow, curiosity winning over the fear that still trilled in her heart at the idea of Hojo getting his hands on her again.

Rufus's apartment was _huge._ The hallway led past a series of closed doors, more than any one man needed, and ended at an actual gym that was stocked with a small jogging track, a weight-lifting section, and its own armory. Aerith stared in shock at the expanse of space, mouth dropping open as she entered the room. Rufus led her to the armory, where a plethora of assorted weapons and materia greeted her.

"If fists are what you want to use, I won't stop you," Rufus was saying as he eyed the rack of weapons down. "I thought perhaps you would rather find a weapon of preference first." He side-eyed her and Aerith closed her mouth, nodding once. She didn't know why Rufus was continuing their training from a few years prior, but she wasn't about to complain. She tentatively stepped forward at his suggestion and looked at the weapons. By far the widest range of choice was a sword, and she cautiously picked up a smaller one, careful to keep the pointy side away from her. As she felt the balance in her hands, she realized she didn't like this feeling at all. She put it back and moved next to the guns. She knew almost nothing about them, so she glanced back at Rufus to see if he'd make an offer on what to choose. Rufus stepped forward and, after a moment of speculation, pulled a simple pistol off the shelf.

"Here, give it a try," he said with a gesture to the back wall, where Aerith saw a range of targets. She took the gun and, with his instruction, gripped it and held it up to eye-level. Rufus wrapped his hand around hers, directing her forefinger to the trigger. She held her breath and squeezed once, flinching at the slight recoil that struck her arms as the loud _bang_ reverberated throughout the room.

"I'm not sure about that," she said breathlessly as she handed it back to him. "Is there a more… hands off approach I can take?"

Rufus thought for a moment before replacing the gun onto the wall. Then he moved over to the tallest part of the armory rack: a series of staffs. He picked up a couple, weighing them and contemplating. Aerith watched as he nodded once to one and pulled it off the shelf, handing it to her.

"How about this?" he asked as she took it, her hands searching for a comfortable grip. It felt light and malleable in her hands, and it also left a pleasant feeling in her heart. Rufus gestured for her to aim at the targets again and she gave a small brandish of the staff, feeling magic echoing its way up the core and out the end to hit dead in the center of a target. She gasped in delight, her fingers tingling from the pleasant feel of the magic.

"I like this one," she said with a big smile. Rufus nodded as if he wasn't surprised, turning back to the armory and pulling off a few materia.

"Do you have your fire materia with you?" he asked her. She nodded once, fumbling for the small orb that she had hidden in her favorite ribbon. Rufus took it from her, adding it to the plethora he held in his hands. Then, as Aerith watched, he inserted a few into the three available slots. At the top was her green fire materia, followed by a simple green materia, and ending with a vivid purple one.

"If you want to be ready for anything, it's best to have one offensive materia, a healing materia, and an MP up materia," he instructed her as he stood back up, dusting off his hands. "Casting magic can be draining on you, so the MP up will help you a lot."

Aerith wasn't looking at that one, however. She was staring at the one in the middle.

"Healing materia?" she asked softly. "I can heal people?"

She didn't know why this resounded with her so much, but the idea that she could finally be _useful_ to the people of Midgar was a new, unfamiliar comfort. She smiled at the small materia, hopeful she would be able to help a lot of people.

"That's what healing materia does. Would you like me to show you how to use them?"

Aerith's resounding 'yes' echoed throughout the gym, making her laugh a little.

The next hour or two had Rufus showing Aerith how to use the staff and the materia. While he didn't use a staff himself, he seemed to have a good understanding of how to wield such a long-range weapon, which honestly wasn't that surprising to her. She was happy enough to learn, something she wished she had known ages ago. In the back of her mind while she learned to cast fire on a nearby target with stunning accuracy, Aerith had begun to devise a plan that could help her out of her current situation. She wasn't the safest as it was with her recent endeavors, and she had a feeling the only reason she hadn't been harshly reprimanded yet was because her guardian was still reeling from the destruction of the second reactor. She probably didn't have much time now, and so she needed to make a choice – a very, very, difficult choice.

Once Aerith had built up a comfortable sweat and felt a bit more proficient with the weapon she had been given, Rufus showed her how to minimize the staff and only appear at her will. This skill would be most useful of all, she knew, as she minimized the staff and clasped her hands in her gratefulness.

"Thank you, Rufus," she said sincerely with a smile on her face. "I feel more prepared now than ever!"

Rufus crossed his arms. "With the company you've been keeping, I would rather you're able to protect yourself than be defenseless," he said simply. "Which reminds me: I'm not sure what you're doing or why you're doing it, but Father is going to realize it if he hasn't already. You need to keep a low profile, Aerith. You're going to be in trouble as it is."

Aerith gulped a bit, keeping the now-shaky smile on her lips.

"Thanks for the advice," she said. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not a child anymore."

Rufus stepped closer, hand closing on her shoulder as he stared at her. "I mean it," he said lowly. "You will get hurt if you continue down this path, and I cannot help you if you don't help me first."

His words held a double-edged sword, one that slid into her stomach and twisted itself there. Aerith swallowed hard – his show of concern was a thinly-veiled threat.

"I can take care of myself," she reiterated, pushing his hand off her shoulder. "Maybe you should focus on how you're going to free me instead of worrying about whom I choose to associate myself with."

Rufus frowned at her for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his PHS. He pressed a couple buttons and brought the device to his ear.

"Tseng? I'll need a guard at Aerith's door," he said smoothly. "I'm concerned for her well-being."

Aerith gasped in shock and outrage, narrowing her eyes as anger flickered back up her bones and took out the twisted dagger of words he'd just said.

"Rufus!" she shrieked. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Rufus ended the call with a smirk, slipping the device back into his pocket. "Come now," he said, "I'll escort you back to your room – where you are to _stay_ until you learn who you should and shouldn't be spending time with."

Aerith had half a mind to whip the staff back out and show him who _he_ shouldn't be spending time with, but before she could he had a hold of her arm and was hauling her out of the gym and down the hallway to the door again.

"You are absolutely ridiculous!" she admonished angrily, clenching her fist again. "All that help and just to stuff me in a room by myself? So I can whither away and die? What about the _freedom_ you promised me?"

"It isn't time yet for that," he replied instantly, no trace of his secrets in his voice or collected expression. "For the time being, it's important you stay safe and right where you need to be. Any further trouble will bring bad publicity upon the Shinra name and will be the end of the line for your stint as a loving _ward._ " He spat the last word, and Aerith visibly flinched at the tone. This was the Rufus she remembered now – a barely-concealed angry man with a grudge and self-fulfilling purpose. She found herself dragged back down the hallway to her room, where Reno was already waiting, arms crossed as he sulked at his new job.

"I have better things I could be doing," he said with a pout as he eyed Aerith unhappily.

"I'm your boss and you'll do as I say," Rufus commanded, pulling Aerith forward and gesturing for her to unlock the door. Aerith did begrudgingly, glaring daggers at both men before throwing open the door and being shoved in.

"Rufus, _you are the absolute worst son of a_ –" she didn't get to finish her well-crafted insult before he'd slammed the door shut in her face. Aerith huffed angrily and kicked her boots off, stomping over to the couch and throwing herself onto it.

In the back of her mind as she lay there in her fury, Aerith remembered the tv footage she'd seen earlier. She remembered the soggy blond hair that topped the serious expression of the man whose company she'd grown to enjoy. She thought back to that sword, very obviously Zack's, and the confusion Cloud had at trying to remember where he had gotten it.

Aerith reached over to her tv remote and flicked the device to life, scanning as she looked for more information on the reactor bombing. Shinra's news station was showing the same footage again, with more of an emphasis on the battle. The announcer was talking in-depth about Wutai and some of the spy tactics they had used during the war, how they matched the fighting techniques of the Avalanche girl in particular. As she watched, a large explosion hit the platform they were fighting on, knocking out one camera. A feed from a second drone patched in almost immediately, showcasing the results: the mech had fallen, and Cloud Strife was hanging with one arm above a sure death of a fall. As she watched, another explosion rang out, pushing the others to safety while Cloud _lost his grip_. She gasped and stared, wide-eyed, as he fell out of range.

_He had fallen._

In a sudden remembrance she recalled the fall that had woken her up from her strange dream the night before. She whipped out her PHS, remembering Kunsel's weird request for her contact information. She hadn't checked it since she had gone to Rufus's.

There, waiting, was a new correspondence. Her heart fluttered in a terrifying, anxious lurch as she opened the message.

_This is a friend of Cloud's. He fell into the slums from above. We don't know if he survived or where he is. Can you help me find him? He seemed to like you._

Her heart dropped into her stomach and she clutched the PHS hard. It had been over seven hours since the incident had occurred, and he hadn't tried contacting her yet. She dreaded to think it, but the thought that he may not even be alive anymore threatened to bring tears to her eyes. Thinking that a simple message wouldn't be enough, she pressed call and shakily brought the phone to her ear.

The recipient picked up on the second ring, only evident by the breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Hello?" the hoarse voice of a woman answered.

Aerith instantly put a face to the voice. "You were with him…last night?" she asked tentatively, her own voice soft.

"...Yes."

It was pretty obvious the woman was upset. Aerith let out a breath and continued, "I'm Aerith. And I… I saw what happened on the news."

"Tifa," the other responded. "Can you help me? I don't know where to start. I don't even know if he's…" she trailed off, and Aerith interpreted the silence pretty easily.

"He is," she said quickly. "I… The last time I lost somebody I liked, their soul came to say goodbye. I haven't heard anything from Cloud yet."

She knew this wasn't a tried and true science and the two had only known each other for a couple days, but something in Aerith's mind told her she was right – if Cloud Strife were to die, the planet would let her know.

"That's…interesting," Tifa replied slowly.

"I don't know how much help I'll be though," Aerith sighed. "I'm kinda… on house arrest at the moment."

"Because you two met in sector one?"

"Yeah." She glared at the smoking reactor out the window. "I may be able to get out, but I wouldn't have the slightest idea on where to look."

"Hold on."

Tifa's voice had caught a bit, and Aerith waited as other, muffled voices had a quick conversation on the other end of the receiver. She turned over the thought of Cloud in her head, trying to will the planet to show her if he was alive. Unfortunately, she had no such luck.

"Sorry about that," Tifa rushed as she came back on.

"Not a problem!"

"My friend here was just saying there were people searching the sector seven slums for us. Shinra placed a bounty on our heads."

Aerith sighed heavily.

"Sounds like them, all right," she replied.

"That's not all – apparently Don Corneo of Wall Market is in on it. It was his men searching for _the other two._ "

Aerith digested those words, realization sparking and making her sit up straighter.

"Tifa – he's in Wall Market?" she asked uncertainly.

"That's what it sounds like," Tifa replied, voice saturated with relief. "Look, you were planning on coming down to Wall Market anyway today, right? Would you still be able to do that?"

Aerith thought hard about her unwilling guard outside and a plan began to formulate in her mind.

"Yes, I think I will be able to," she said thoughtfully. "I'll try and be there by midday."

"All right," Tifa replied. "I think I have a plan too. We need to get in closer to Corneo and find out what he knows. I'll see what I can do on my end. Meet me outside Corneo's mansion in Wall Market."

"Okay," Aerith agreed, clenching a fist again and summoning her staff. Delightedly, she felt it materialize in her grip. She grinned. _Time to go find Cloud._

* * *

_Cloud_

_Everything was black._

_A low, swooping sensation hooked into his stomach and pushed, making him feel as if he were falling into a pool of water, gasping for air with each agonizing second. That all-too-familiar anger that constantly pulsed in his mind reared up, licking the fear that spread into his veins like ice as he found himself paralyzed._

_Black gave way to white, and the anger softened, retreating back into its habitation behind locked walls he couldn't access. The faint, familiar floral smell that danced across his nostrils soothed the fear that threatened to consume him, and he squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Maybe just another minute of rest…_

_"Hey, buddy," a discombobulated voice from somewhere nearby greeted gently. "You okay?"_

_He managed to squeeze out a breathless "Yeah" from a tight throat. Nervousness? Pain? He couldn't register anything._

_"Made it through with just a couple of scraped knees back then," the voice mused lightly but carefully, and Cloud frowned to himself._

_"'Back then'?" Cloud repeated slowly._

_"Whaddaya say? Are we doing this?"_

_The voice was low and familiar, one that graced at the outskirts of his memories – those that were over the edge of his cliff of knowledge and out of reach. "Have we…" he asked slowly, trying to find the words. Coherent thought was beginning to come back to him now._

_"Never mind about that," the voice replied, a bit more sternly. "Right now, you need to focus on yourself. Move something. Anything."_

_Simple enough request._

_"Why not…"_

_His limbs, like they were submerged in liquid concrete, were sluggish and not entirely responsive. Nevertheless, he succeeded – with great effort – in moving a single finger. Progress._

_"Good," the voice encouraged. "Easy does it. Slow and steady."_

_Yeah, yeah, he thought to himself, not realizing he'd spoken these words out loud. This nagging was beginning to remind him of his mother. There was a soft chuckle from nearby, and a hand placed itself gently onto his shoulder, the first thing he had felt of this whitewashed world. It gave him a bit more power to move, and he lifted his head ever-so-slightly, determined to focus enough to speak._

_"Hey, uh…who are you?" he asked, finally finding the strength to lift his heavy eyelids. Instantly the white world vanished, replaced once again by one shrouded in darkness. The hand pressed more firmly into his shoulder, solidifying the contact and getting his heart racing. "Who are you?" he asked again, a bit more fearfully this time._

_A terrifyingly familiar, soft voice slid like poison into his ears and through his brain._

_"I am…your everything," Sephiroth hissed, and his head jerked back in shock as he tried to turn around and see for himself._

_Sephiroth was gone. He was surrounded by thick darkness that threatened to swallow him. Meanwhile, the presence in his head was pleased, tickled pink by his torture. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to wake up._

The first thing Cloud realized was that he was in pain. His body was sore, as if he had slammed into some heavy surface. His left leg felt unsteady and sharp, along with his right wrist. The familiar, comforting weight of his sword wasn't at his back, leaving him feeling exposed. He also found that he couldn't open his eyes, as his head swam with painful, sharp jabs at any impact of light against them. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, groaning.

His body didn't feel too uncomfortable, despite the immense pain that had begun creeping closer and closer to the surface of his awareness. His bare arms felt soft against individual strands of something that felt soothing and cool. He was on his stomach, a position that felt wrong in his current state. He grit his teeth and did his best to try and move, to even reach one of his potions.

"Shit," somebody swore loudly nearby. Cloud tensed instantly, halting his movements. He hadn't yet found the ability to speak, as his mouth felt dry.

"It's fine, the kid ain't going nowhere without help," another person said, and Cloud felt a slight kick against his bad leg. He groaned again as pain flared up his leg and into his chest. Everything became too hot.

"Put him under, it'll be easier," the first voice – a high, reedy, voice that didn't belong to anybody he'd met before suggested. Cloud tried to find his voice and his strength, tried to will his body into cooperating. Before he was able to do anything, he felt a soft cloud of sleep descend heavily onto his mind, willing him to unconsciousness once more.

In and out of consciousness as pain continued to flare up, he was able to only catch snippets of what was happening. He was moving, and not of his own accord. His body ached, pleading for the movement to stop, but he was powerless to do anything.

Next thing he knew, the movement had thankfully stopped. Cold air now clung to his bare arms as he lay on his side, face pressed against an equally cold floor. Stone? Everything was dark, which was a welcome change to the previous time he could remember being awake. His body was slowly trying to mend itself, teaching his broken bones to heal and encouraging his headache to temporarily subside. He lay silently, feeling his body working, unable to do much more than dream of drinking some water.

A sweet-smelling haze washed over him, lulling him back to a dreamless, endless slumber.

The next time Cloud awoke, he felt much clearer. His pain had subsided to a minimum, and his senses all seemed intact. He was sitting now, back pressed against what felt metal bars. He blearily opened his eyes for the first time in what felt like forever, adjusting slowly to his dark surroundings. Once he did, he bolted awake and jerked around, taking in where he was.

He was in the air, suspended in some sort of metal cage in what looked like a dungeon, not one he was familiar with. Below him were various items, both those that did and those that did not look like they belonged in a dungeon. His hands curled around the bars in front of him, searching as quickly as he could for a way down. Above him, the cage was suspended with a thick chain, one that wouldn't be easy to cut. His sword and items were nowhere to be seen, either; he was royally screwed.

Cloud growled in frustration and jerked back, resting his back against the bars behind him. The cage swung a bit, making his stomach turn the slightest. Good thing he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since meeting Aerith in sector one.

_Aerith._ His heart jolted as he felt quickly for the PHS she had given him. Of course his captor had taken that from him. He wondered how long it had been since his fall from reactor five, whether Tifa was looking for him. He wondered if Aerith was angry at him for not messaging her the night before. He sighed, leaning his head against the bars and closing his eyes.

With having no idea where he was and how he would get out, he knew there wasn't much he could do from here. It would take some planning to get out of this one, he realized as he tried to settle in. His body was still healing, and he would need all the strength he had to bust out properly. Hopefully, he could find that strength and escape before whoever was holding him came to chat. He grit his teeth in determination, crossing his arms and keeping his head tilted upwards.

He would wait.


	7. Operation Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! Last week we left Aerith and Cloud both in a bit of a tough situation, so let's see what we can do to get them out of it... As always, thank you to my lovely beta and friend Rand0mSmil3z for going through and catching mistakes, awkward language, and helping the flow of the story!

_Aerith_

"Are you coming or not?" Aerith asked sweetly, materialized staff held against Reno's throat while he sweated profusely.

"Aw, come on, that's no fair!" He meekly raised his arms in surrender. "Since when did you have a weapon?"

She shrugged with a devilish grin. "Since Rufus determined the people I hang around with are dangerous," she replied simply. "You can guard an empty room or you can follow me, Reno. It's your call."

Reno grumbled under his breath something about 'being told to guard a door, not a stuck up bitch,' but she chose to ignore the latter half of his anti-sentiment as she propped the staff on her shoulder and began flouncing away.

"Fine!" Reno shouted from behind her. "Go get yourself killed, see if I care!"

Aerith smiled to herself, satisfied with her successful annoyance of the Turk. Once in the elevator, she minimized the staff and stuck her tongue out at Reno down the hallway. He was crossing his arms and slouching, determined to do his job even if it meant guarding an empty room. As the doors closed, she thought he saw him stick his tongue out in return. She rolled her eyes and giggled then pulled out her PHS to message Kunsel.

 _Operation Escape phase one complete,_ she sent with a small smile as the elevator began its long, tedious journey to the parking ramp beneath the building. She began twisting bits of hair under her fingertips, feeling the basic woven plait that she had opted for to get her hair out of the way. Her trademark ribbon was still perched atop her head, hopefully bringing her the luck she felt she needed to complete her mission.

Her PHS buzzed. _Phase two ready,_ Kunsel messaged back with a thumbs-up emoji. She smiled and pocketed the device, pulling her arms behind her and resting against the wall. In her back pocket, she felt the cap she had grabbed to help keep her identity secret once she was down below. Hopefully it would be enough for now.

An eternity later, the elevator doors slid open and Aerith cautiously stepped outside, thankful to see that before the looming lunch hour the parking ramp was relatively empty. The only soul in sight in front of her was Kunsel, a helmet under each arm and a nervous grin on his face. He stood next to an old motorbike, something she'd never ridden before and was a bit nervous to try out.

"You made it!" he said in relief as she approached, and he handed her one of the helmets. "I have our transportation. You said we're heading under the plates?"

"To Wall Market," Aerith replied with a quick nod. "I'll meet up with your contact, Tifa, there. That has to be where Cloud is."

Kunsel frowned a bit. "Wall Market is a bit dangerous," he warned. "Do you want me to stay with you down there?"

Aerith shook her head vehemently. "A SOLDIER will just attract attention," she said with an apologetic smile, and she grasped the helmet in her hands and stuffed it on her head. Her hair got in the way and she struggled with the clasp of the visor, trying to pull it up so she could move her hair. Kunsel, seeing her struggle, stepped over and flipped the visor open for her.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, tucking the hair off to the side of the helmet. Her hair would be a mess later, but that was for future Aerith to worry about. "And thanks for giving me a lift."

"Hey, anything to get to the bottom of all of this," he replied sincerely, stuffing the helmet over his own head and flipping the visor up. He walked back to the motorbike and straddled it, patting the space behind him for her join. Aerith took a deep breath, quelling any nervousness that began to arise, and slid into the seat prepared for her. Kunsel sat down and she followed, wrapping her arms around the waist of his leather jacket.

The bike roared to life under her, making her flinch ever-so-slightly. This would be her first time on a bike. "Hold on!" Kunsel shouted over the noise before flipping his visor down, and Aerith pressed in tighter, determined not to fall off as she flipped hers down too. The bike eased forward and began its descent from the parking ramp to the Midgar expressway.

Being on the back of a motorbike was absolutely exhilarating. Adrenaline pounding in her ears, Aerith kept her eyes squinted shut at first as she felt the bike pick up speed on the highway. Wind whipped the part of her braid that didn't fit under the hat, but under the helmet she felt surprisingly safe. Because of that, she slowly released the tension on her eyes and chanced a glance at the world around them.

They were going _so fast._ Kunsel weaved in and out of traffic like he did this for a living, following the signs to the lower plate access tunnels. Aerith stared back at the Shinra building, which stood imposingly taller and grew more distant with each second. She couldn't worry about repercussions of her actions now; she had a job to do.

When they entered the tunnels, Kunsel slowed down a bit and took the bike at a more leisurely pace. Aerith enjoyed the dark surroundings and the empty road that was there just for them today. The wind wasn't nearly as howling here, but the force of their moving through air still nipped at her tight leggings and made her legs underneath go a bit numb. Even with the sun outside, it was a bit chilly today.

After a long time riding along, where Aerith was able to listen only to the wind whistling through her helmet while she hung on for dear life, the tunnels gave way to the approaching train station. She inwardly realized it was a shame the upper expressways didn't run down below, because the tunnels weren't exactly supposed to be used by individual transportation. Kunsel slowed the bike further as they approached a familiar location she recognized as the sector five slums station. He veered off the tracks and edged the bike up onto a dirt path that led away from the bustling station and towards the underside of the unfinished plate. Aerith looked up at the plate in awe, admiring the sheer scale of the city she grew up in. While the slums had never seen the cleanliness and kindness from Shinra that the upper plates had seen, the view they had was a unique one all its own. Her eyes followed the jagged edges of metal beams that slowly worked their way into blotting the sun out; but for now, she felt the rays on her face and smiled, soaking in the light's warmth.

Kunsel drove much slower on these back roads, taking care around winding curves to avoid people and monsters alike. More than once Aerith swore she saw some creature lurking in the shadows on the path, and she hugged her SOLDIER friend tighter each time, worried she would get pulled off. Even with her new staff, she was very inexperienced in fighting and wasn't sure she was ready to start that process.

Kunsel nudged her with the back of his shoulder, and Aerith looked forward to see where he was trying to show. There in the distance were a series of quaint buildings bathed in orange and surrounded by a tall, black wall. _Wall Market._ He edged the bike onwards, their path descending into heaps of rock and industrial trash that was between them and their destination. Aerith stared straight ahead, trying to catch another glimpse as they dipped in and out of obstacles. Eventually, they found the edge of town and Kunsel slowed to a stop, catching the bike from falling with his foot.

Aerith stood up – legs a little shaky from the exhilaration of the ride – and removed her helmet to grin at Kunsel. "That was fun!" she exclaimed, taking a few breaths to steady herself. "Why haven't I done that before?"

Kunsel laughed, removing his helmet too. "Probably something to do with being the president's ward," he joked back with a roll of his eyes. "When we get you out, I'll take you all across Gaia on the motorbike, if you want!"

Aerith beamed at him. "I wouldn't want anything else," she sighed happily, handing him back the helmet. "When I'm free, you're going to quit too?"

He shrugged.

"There's nothing here for me anymore," he said while running a hand through his hair. "After Zack, I'm not sure I can trust anything Shinra says anymore. There are much better things I could be doing for the world than working for them."

She pulled the cap out of her pocket and fixed it onto her head, pulling the braid through the hole. She held her arms out.

"How do I look? Like a regular tourist?" she asked.

Kunsel chuckled.

"Not completely, but if you'll blend in anywhere, it'll be in this hellhole," he teased back. His eyes grew serious for a moment. "I'll wait here until your friend meets you. Safety in numbers in a sketchy part of town, okay?"

Aerith nodded, pulling her PHS out and messaging Tifa where she was.

"So Wall Market is pretty seedy?" she asked conversationally then, turning around to face what she could see. Beyond the large gate, a few ornate shops were scattered on this side of town. Farther in, she thought she could hear the distant sounds of crowds and music. It sounded bustling and exciting, not to mention it was easy on the eyes with its assortment of colors and décor. If anything, Wall Market looked like an exciting tourist destination.

"Yeah," Kunsel said absently as he stared too. "It used to be better, at least until Don Corneo moved in and took over. Now it's pretty lawless. Even Shinra tends to stay out unless there's a direct security threat."

"Wow, a place Shinra won't even reach," she murmured, looking at the town with brand new eyes. Perhaps this was information that would be useful to her for later.

"Is this our contact?" Kunsel asked then, pointing towards a young woman jogging up the path. Aerith recognized her from the footage on the news, although she was doing a great job at trying to hide herself – she had dressed in a fancy black kimono adorned with a wide, gray belt and little bows. Black thigh-high socks hid her legs and helped her surprisingly blend into the landscape she left to join them. As she approached, Aerith admired the large pink flower in her hair that sat atop a chain of smaller flowers flowing through her hair. She looked familiar, and not just from the footage…

"Heya!" Aerith said with a big smile, approaching the other and noticing her wary expression. "I'm Aerith. This is Kunsel, my friend and your contact on the message boards."

"Nice to meet you," Tifa said a bit stiffly, letting a soft smile shine through. "I'm Tifa. We're…safe, right? You're not going to arrest me or something?"

Aerith laughed. "Nope!" she said. "Kunsel and I are stuck on the inside for now, but we have our morals. Our goal is to find out what happened to our friend and then we're getting out from under Shinra's thumb."

Tifa cocked her head, eyes widening in surprise.

"Really? You can… do that?" she asked uncertainly.

It was Kunsel's turn to laugh. "Not easily, but we're doing it anyway," he said good-naturedly, holding his hand out to shake Tifa's. "Nice to meet you in person, by the way. It's unfortunate what happened to your friend. Hopefully you two can track him down."

"Thanks," Tifa replied with a sigh. "That's my hope, too. He isn't exactly the most… stable at the moment."

Aerith tilted her head curiously but didn't pursue the subject.

Kunsel strapped the extra helmet to the back of his bike before putting his back on. "I'll catch you guys later," he said with a grin through his open visor. "Aerith, message me if you need anything. You know I'll be back down if you want my help."

"I appreciate it," she responded with a bright smile. "We can do this!"

"Absolutely," Tifa added. Kunsel grinned again and, flipping the visor down, angled the bike the direction they came and peeled away. A heavy cloud of dust rose up behind them and Aerith waved it away with a cough.

"So…where do we start?" she asked her new companion.

Tifa shifted from foot to foot a little, glancing anxiously back at Wall Market. "Well, I may have done something a little stupid, but I had an idea." She stretched her arms and began walking, Aerith quickly falling into step with her. "I've managed to get an invitation to one of Corneo's special auditions tonight. Hence my getup," she added while waving at her outfit. "If I can get some one-on-one time with him, I can force the truth out of him!"

"Hmm… What kind of audition is it for? A dancer?" she asked innocently, processing the information.

Tifa grimaced. "A wife."

Aerith gasped. "Well… that's something I didn't see coming," she laughed in surprise as she looked up at the sign they passed under announcing their arrival into the lawless town. "He holds auditions for wives?"

"Apparently? I don't know much more than that," she said, her voice quiet . "I just want to get Cloud back and safe back in sector seven, and if this is the only way, then this is the way."

The two women rounded a corner and suddenly they were in the midst of the crowds and music that Aerith had heard from the other side of town. Even during the light of day, colors pulled at her attention from every angle. Lanterns hung above them, crisscrossing into seemingly random patterns that promised illumination at night. Stands advertising food, drinks, and anything else she could ever want surrounded them on all sides, beckoning her in with delectable smells of fried food and the sounds of cheerful vendors looking to acquire a customer.

"Wow," Aerith murmured, eyes wide. "This is incredible, Tifa!"

Tifa laughed a bit at her expression, taking in the view too.

"I've seen it a few times before, but I'm sure…you don't really get out much, do you?" she asked.

Aerith shook her head, eyes wide with wonder. "Not much at all," she whispered, more to herself than to her companion. "What do we need to do first then?"

"I thought we could do some reconnaissance first. Scout around, see if we can find anybody who has seen somebody matching Cloud's description?"

"Well, we'll need to be careful, since he's not exactly one to blend in and there's a bounty on his head," Aerith sighed. "But let's do that – I hope I'm dressed inconspicuously enough!" She held out her arms and Tifa studied her for a moment.

"I think you'll be fine," she said. "Just keep the hat over your face and you should be set."

Aerith nodded, adjusting the cap in question. She scanned around them, tried to take in as much as her eyes would allow, but the colors and the sights were almost overwhelming. She caught the sight of a food vendor waving at her and Tifa, beckoning them closer. Aerith grinned, keeping her hat a bit low while she approached.

"Chocobo pops!" the vendor announced excitedly. "Only 10 gil a piece, can I interest you fine young ladies in a few?"

Aerith was already fishing out gil from her pocket. "Yes please," she replied happily. She exchanged her money for two short sticks, each with a bright yellow, bulbous sweet decorated like a chocobo head on it. Tifa, accepting the chocobo pop Aerith handed her, eyed it uncertainly. Aerith looked at hers, looked at Tifa, and then bit into the head of the pop without a second thought. An almost sickly sweet flavor accompanied the soft cake, making her moan in delight.

"This is so good!" Aerith gushed through a mouthful of cake, beaming at the other girl.

Tifa, who hadn't taken more than a look at her own pop, chuckled a bit as she looked at Aerith. "Um, you have a bit of…frosting on your mouth."

Aerith squeaked and wiped her face quickly with the back of her hand. "Thanks," she said gratefully as she swallowed.

Tifa slowly led them around the main square as they ate their treats, pausing every few moments to ask a quick question of people regarding Cloud. So far, nobody had seen anybody matching Cloud's description. Aerith took the leftover sticks and threw them in the trash as Tifa wrung her hands; by now a good ten people had been questioned without any luck. They had emerged from a particularly crowded alley onto a purposefully wide stone path now, and this part of town seemed trilling with extra excitement. Aerith followed the enthusiastic gestures and bright eyes towards their fixation: a brightly decorated building halfway up an excessive set of stairs.

"What do you think is going on?" she asked Tifa, curiosity more than evident in her voice as she craned her neck to see.

Tifa bent down and picked something off the floor. "Must be the Corneo Cup," she replied, showing Aerith the paper evidence. Aerith took the flyer in fascination, her heartbeat picking up in excitement as she studied the colors and the emblazoned announcement for the tournament.

"This sounds like fun!" she said wistfully, hugging the flyer to her chest and staring longingly at the building again. "I wish we had time to go see it. I've never been to anything quite like it."

"Maybe…" Tifa trailed off, and Aerith whipped her head to study the other woman. She was squinting at the building. "Maybe there will be people in there that will know more. After all, Corneo is the one we're after here… He's bound to have people there if he himself isn't."

"An excellent point!" Aerith chimed in, barely concealing the vibrating anticipation that was blooming in her chest. While she had had many outings with President Shinra over the years, some of them even to fun events, she'd never before had the chance to simply _enjoy_ them without the heavy weight of expectation to behave and be picture-perfect for the entourage of media that creeped after the Shinra family like a plague. This experience could be, in no less words, _enjoyable_ for her.

"The entrance fee is a bit spendy," Tifa said, apprehension evident in her tone and in the way her fingers drummed against her thigh. "I'm not sure I have enough…"

"Don't worry," Aerith replied with a big smile, "I have more than enough for both of us! That is possibly the only good thing about my situation – I've never been one lacking in funds."

Tifa bit her lip. "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. Aerith bobbed her head in response. "Okay then…"

"Look," Aerith gushed as she pointed at the flyer. "We missed the first round already, but the second round is due to begin soon. Let's go get our tickets!"

"Hopefully we'll have better luck in there…" Tifa sighed as Aerith led the way to the event center. Weaving through the throngs of excited patrons, they finally fought their way to the door and into the proper line for tickets. Aerith fumbled for the gil in her pocket, grin permanently affixed to her face as she practically buzzed with excitement.

"You…don't do this much, do you?" Tifa chuckled next to her. Aerith shook her head, sending her braid swinging around each shoulder.

"Nope!" She popped the 'p' for emphasis. "First time for me! And I really hope we figure out what happened to Cloud, too," she added with a reassuring smile. "The guy seems pretty resilient. Maybe he's sulking somewhere and his pride is the only thing wounded about him?"

Tifa hid her laugh behind her hand. "You've only met him a couple times, but you have Cloud's ways down to a T," she said honestly. "That would be just like him."

Once they reached to the front of the line, Aerith handed over the gil for 2 tickets. She accepted the golden stubs with awe, and she couldn't help admiring the glint the soft metallic sheen gave when the light ran over them. Tifa gently nudged her forward and Aerith looked away from the stub towards the opening doors in front of her. She stepped through, feeling anticipation rock through her entire body.

That wasn't the only thing that physically moved her – loud, booming music blasted up through the floorboards and vibrated her shoes. The atmosphere inside was fun, festive, and absolutely contagious. Aerith's eyes were wide as she tried to take in everything at once. They were standing on the precipice of a large, open arena draped in shades of red. A large, octagonal carving was the crowning jewel in the center of the empty arena below them, the only rivals to its ornate carvings being the equally stunning doors on either side of the room.

"This is incredible," she murmured, clutching the ticket stubs to her chest in complete awe.

Tifa laughed and gently tugged one stub away from her. "It really is," she agreed, studying the stub. "We only have a few minutes. It looks like we're all the way at the top." Pointing upwards, Tifa led Aerith to their seats, Aerith's eyes trailing back to the arena every few minutes. When the found their spots, they sank into the hard bleacher seats provided to them. Aerith's gaze wandered to a special booth off to the side, where a set of three impressive thrones sat three impressive-looking people.

"Who are they?" she asked, pointing. Tifa followed her finger to the booth and her eyes widened.

"Now those people would know something," she said excitedly, leaning forward in her seat with a hopeful smile. "That's the trio. They're under Corneo's payload. The one in the middle is Chocobo Sam, he's the one getting me into the audition tonight. I think the left one is the owner of the Honeybee Inn, if I remember correctly. The right one is Madame M. I hear she has a really mean temper."

Aerith laughed nervously, eyeing them with new eyes. These people looked highly important. So did the sulking silver-haired young man behind him, glaring at the arena with an expression she could gauge even from a distance away. As she watched, he held something up to his ear – a PHS, she realized. He listened curtly for a few moments, his eyes widening slightly, and then he nodded. He removed the PHS from his ear, stabbed a few keys, and then held it up again. He talked shortly and his expression never stopped glowering.

"That guy is in a bad mood," she commented nonchalantly to Tifa, who had been watching too.

"Yeah," she replied slowly. "I don't know who that is, but he does not look happy."

Just then, a loud gong rang throughout the room, reverberating in Aerith's ears and echoing off the walls behind them. They really were in the nosebleed seats, but she didn't care. She leaned forward excitedly in her seat as two figures in green and orange strode onto the arena floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen and all variations in between, welcome to the second round of the preliminaries for the _Corneo Cup!_ " one of the men said, his voice booming with excitement as it hit home the event of the day. The crowd roared, and Aerith cheered with them, pumping a fist in the air as she beamed at Tifa. Tifa smiled in amusement at her enthusiasm.

"We have a great line-up for you this afternoon, courtesy of the ever-generous Don Corneo himself!" a reedier voice added to the lineup, gestures drawing her attention to the large screen showing a cartoon figure of a larger, balding man with a big grin. The crowd cheered again.

"This round's winners will go onto face the champions of the great trio themselves in this evening's final rounds. And to add to the excitement, our esteemed leader here in Wall Market has thrown his own champion's hat into the ring!"

"Talk about _exciting_ ," the second man added with a flourish of his arms. "Now – WHO'S READY FOR THE NEXT ROUND?!"

Aerith joined the throng of yells and screams as the two retreated from the arena and took a hidden elevator to the announcer's box.

"First up is the candidate you're all familiar with," the man in green said as the door to their right began to slowly shift open. "Master of _speed,_ dominator of _crushing skulls_! We present to you… _The Compactor!"_

Aerith couldn't lean forward any farther as she struggled to see the contestant that emerged; luckily, the screen captured the image much more easily. The "Compactor" was a large man wearing chainmail and thick, black gloves stained with some dark substance she didn't want to consider. He had on thick pants, probably to help him against the sharp claws of his companions. He was flanked on either side by two enormous, nefarious crab-looking creatures she had never seen before. They clicked their claws menacingly, awaiting orders to attack what was in sight.

"What in the world are _those_?" Aerith asked Tifa, staring with wide eyes.

"I've seen them before," Tifa murmured to her under her breath. "In the sewers. I think they're scissorclaws. Nasty things."

Aerith nodded in agreement, getting over her initial horror as the announcers began their next announcements.

"And now, for the first test by our Don Corneo's champion himself, The Compactor's opponent will be a man on a mission. Fighting for his freedom in the ring, this treasonous military man will be sure to turn heads. But can he defeat the deadly grasp of The Compactor? Ladies and gentlemen, we present…"

"THE MERC!"

Aerith and Tifa rose from their seats at the same time, jaws dropping as the door to the left slid open and a lone, completely obvious-to-them person appeared in the arena below them.

"No way," Tifa breathed.

"How?" Aerith asked back, horror flooding into her veins as the subject of their search and rescue stepped into the center of the ring and took a hesitant battle stance, painfully familiar buster sword gripped tightly in his hands.

There was nothing they could do but watch the ordeal now. Cloud was on his own.

* * *

_Cloud_

Cloud gripped his heavy sword tightly between both hands, trying to ignore the faint sting putting pressure on his still-healing leg was causing. Around him, the erupted roar of the crowd practically deafened his ears. The announcers were saying something, but he found it difficult to focus between the tribal beating of drums, the din of the room, and the throbbing headache that had decided to rejoin him.

How had he gotten into this mess? He huffed in frustration at the whirlwind past couple hours, how he had sat and contemplated the best means of escape from his captivity, only to be interrupted by a disgusting pig of a man, flanked by an impressive amount of lackeys, all leering up at him.

The man had introduced himself with a name that he had expected Cloud to recognize, and disappointment fell short of his reaction when Cloud did not, in fact, know him. Don Corneo had then done some typical villainous gloating, quite proud of his ability to capture terrorists for Shinra in an efficient manner. He had ended his boresome tirade with a deal: fight for him in this stupid competition and earn his freedom, or be handed into Shinra in return for the bounty on his head. Of course, Cloud wasn't stupid and didn't begin to assume he'd be earning freedom as the spectacle suggested, but at least he wasn't confined to that stupid cage like an animal anymore. At least now, he had his weapon, he had his materia, and he had a bit of breathing room to think.

 _Well, maybe not a lot of room to think,_ he thought wryly to himself as the announcers declared the beginning of the match and a gong blasted into his head from somewhere up above.

Cloud had sized up his opponent upon first entering the arena, and he already deemed this not to be much of a fight. The man looked menacing enough, but his companions – a couple of sewer crabs he couldn't remember the name of – would be easy enough to dispel. Once he was done with them, his human opponent, of whose catchy name he had already forgotten, would be a piece of cake.

Springing into action, Cloud leaped over the center of the arena, stabbing the sharp side of his buster sword into the crackled exoskeleton of the first crab, bringing forth a hissing squeal of pain from the creature. It twitched angrily and lunged out with one set of claws, and he was quick to retract his feet from where the sharp pincers stabbed at the air he'd just been in. Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye Cloud saw the man approaching at an impressively rapid pace, arms out as he lunged for the ex-SOLDIER. Cloud dove and summersaulted underneath the outstretched grasp, landing a quick punch to the back of the man's thigh. The man yelled in anger and fell down, recovering and jumping back to his feet rather quickly. Cloud was already moving again though, this time targeting the other crab that was closing in.

Deciding to use the expansive space to his advantage, Cloud left the other two and ran straight at the second monster, hefting the sword behind him to gain momentum. As he approached, he swung the sword out in his signature move. The crab fell onto its back, kicked a couple times, and stopped moving. _One down._

Cloud whirled around and prepared for the onslaught of attack he was expecting. Sure enough, both the man and the other crab were practically on top of him. Bringing his sword into a guarded pose, he waited for the incoming punch from his human opponent, feeling the powerful reverberation of the fist colliding with his sword. He reacted in turn with a swing of his sword, catching the man off-guard as the blunt end dug into his gut. He fell onto his back, momentarily stunned, and Cloud turned his focus to the staggering crab that was fast approaching.

The creature twitched forward in bizarre, jarred movements from its previous onslaught. It was mad and out for blood, that much Cloud could see now. He checked his equipped materia quickly to see what he had as it continued its lengthy approach. _Fire, healing, thunder, first strike –_

A hand clamped down on his ankle, pulling him down in a surprising, staggering feat. Cloud yelped as he lost the grip on his sword and landed hard on his healing leg, a fresh twist of pain eliciting a growl from his throat. His opponent was still injured and slow to get to his feet, but he had found success and stood above, fist clenched in fury as he prepared for his final blow.

Cloud knew it was now or never. He pushed his pain back with the adrenaline seeping through his body and shoved himself to the side, towards his sword and the final crab. He grasped the buster sword and stabbed one final time at the crab from his position on the ground, quickly changing tactics and rolling on his back to face his final opposition. With a twist in his gut and a deathly grip on his sword, he called fire from his weapon and sent it towards the enraged, injured man. A blossom of red-hot fire erupted and his opponent fell with a yowl of pain, taking a few deep gasps for breath before falling still.

Still on the ground, Cloud took a few seconds to breathe, letting his adrenaline work its way through his suddenly tired limbs. His leg throbbed in a screaming reminder that he hadn't been fully healed yet when he ran on it. He winced.

" _He's done it!"_ came the resounding cry from the announcers.

A resounding cheer erupted from the crowd, startling him. Cloud had nearly forgotten where he was for a moment. Fighting was an easy distraction, and he had always found battles to be the perfect cure for too much thought. Now however, he slowly got to his feet, twirling the sword around a couple times before sticking it on his back again. He looked up at the crowd for the first time, his eyes staring in amazement at the sheer number of people waving and yelling in his direction.

His gaze landed on the obvious VIP section of the audience, and Cloud's eyes narrowed at the people who must have been invited especially by Don Corneo himself. He heard a door opening and turned his head towards the noise, realizing he had to exit the arena for the next scheduled fight to commence. He sighed and retreated back the way he'd entered, keeping pressure off his bad leg as much as he possibly could.

He was greeted in the hallway by no less than four unsurprising guys, all part of the earlier entourage that had first met him in the dungeon. He glowered but stopped in front of them, crossing his arms and not making his move. The pain in his leg felt like fire and he needed to heal up and then down an ether. He wasn't ready to escape just yet.

"Great job, SOLDIER boy," one sneered at him, pushing him towards one of the waiting rooms. Cloud chose to ignore the stares from a couple other contestants as he sulked his way into the room. The door slammed shut behind him and he sighed heavily, dropping into one of the chairs around a simple table. In the corner was a vending machine and a bench he'd gladly take a rest at, but he needed a moment first.

Cloud took in his surroundings, studying the useless items that were on the shelves and scattered on the floors. The only new additions to the room were now a few small bouquets of flowers laying haphazardly on the table. He eyed them for a few minutes, wondering why the hell people would be giving _him_ recognition – he was just trying to get out of here.

Nevertheless, curiosity won over and Cloud scooted his chair – hissing in pain when he put pressure on his bad leg again, he _really_ needed to heal up – over to the bouquets and studied them, looking around them for well-wishing cards or something. There wasn't anything to note except his new pseudonym of "The Merc," christened by the incredibly annoying Corneo himself. He sighed heavily and pushed off the table, walking over to the vending machine to stock up on supplies.

There was a small commotion at the door as he downed an ether, and Cloud made a quick face before discarding the vial amongst the junk piled on the floor. Curiosity got the better of him and he made his way around the furniture to listen carefully at the other side.

"…I know you?" one of the lackeys was asking suspiciously. "You look familiar…"

"Take a few moments, maybe it'll come to you." The voice that replied was sweet, polite, and firm. _That voice._

Cloud almost stopped breathing as he couldn't believe his ears. Aerith was _here? How?_

There was a slight shuffling and a few gasps of astonishment as at least one of Corneo's men recognized her. "You're – you're the president's ward!" one of them said, barely containing the awe in their voices.

"No way, that's you?" another stuttered in disbelief.

"She's on my copy of Shinra Monthly!" another confirmed with an excited flourish in his voice. "To what do we owe the honor?"

"Well, I was so impressed with the way The Merc fought, and I wanted to offer a token of my appreciation," Aerith explained in a voice that gave away a lot more than the lackeys were probably able to hear. She was here to help, Cloud could tell. Part of him sighed in relief, part of him was annoyed – this would be the second time Aerith had saved his ass in less than a week. Not that he needed saving, no…Cloud could take care of himself.

"Well, we're not supposed to let anybody in…" one of the lackeys trailed off uncertainly.

Aerith let out a light laugh, replying, "I promise, there's nothing I can do that would jeopardize his situation. It seems Mr. Corneo found himself a good candidate, and I really appreciate watching a great fight!"

There were some murmurings among the lackeys, and the wheels in Cloud's head began to turn – he thought he had a plan, but he didn't know if Aerith was going to like it…

"Fine, but make it quick!" somebody snapped, and a key came searching in the doorknob. Cloud jumped away from the door and settled back into the chair he had recently vacated, searching quickly for the potion he'd just purchased. Downing it in one disgusting gulp, he set the vial on the table and felt his injuries begin to heal at a much more rapid pace.

The door opened to reveal one of the lackeys, a particularly ugly guy with unkempt black hair and a mischievous grin.

"Hey pretty boy, you have an esteemed visitor," he announced into the room, as if Cloud hadn't heard a single word of the conversation outside. "You better be on your best behavior now, _or else._ "

He backed away and then Cloud caught sight of Aerith, a bouquet of flowers in one trembling hand and a cap in the other. She had a bright, excited smile on her face, and it was only because he had grown to recognize her fake fronts that he could tell she was nervous.

Aerith bounded forward and thrust the flowers at him, big green eyes bright – too bright, she was nervous. Cloud looked down at the flowers – yellow lilies, looking prime in their bloom and smelling achingly familiar – and back up to her.

"I wanted to say that you did a fantastic job today," she said loudly to him, winking as she did so. Her hand fumbled in the band of her leggings and she pulled out a PHS as she did so. "You were so brave!"

"Uh – thanks," Cloud replied, looking back down at the flowers and then watching her hands as she tucked the cap under her arm and typed rapidly. She turned the device around and he read the message on there.

_Are you okay?_

He nodded quickly.

Aerith sighed and deleted what she wrote. "What's your name, anyway?" she asked with a very convincing giggle. She typed furiously on the PHS, quickly waving for him to reply out loud.

"C-Cloud," he said quickly. "I'm Cloud."

"Well Cloud," she said with a big grin and her PHS held out again for him to take, "It's so nice to meet you!"

"Hey, hurry it up in there," one of the lackeys complained outside of the door, peeking his head in. Cloud met his eyes and glared, subtly taking the device from her at the same time.

"One more minute," Aerith called easily over her shoulder, sounding like she didn't have a care in the world. Cloud read the PHS again.

_Do you have a plan to get out of here?_

He shrugged weakly at her, handing the PHS back and straightening up. He reached up for the hilt of his sword, eying her wordlessly. She followed his action and her eyes widened a bit. She nodded quickly, and Cloud hoped they were on the same page.

That was how, a few silent moments later, a couple of the guys poked their heads in to find Cloud standing menacingly, arm wrapped around Aerith's waist and sword held to her throat.

"Woah, holy shit!" one yelped, practically bounding into the room. "Do you know who that is, idiot? The president will have your head!"

"What's going – damn it!" unkempt hair shouted, whipping his pistol out and training it at Cloud. "Let the girl go now!"

"No," Cloud said firmly. The fury he emphasized in a single word was enough to impress even himself. "You're going to let me go, and then _maybe_ I'll consider letting the girl go and letting you live."

"Shit, man," the first one said nervously, "we can't let the president's ward get hurt."

"Corneo will have our heads if we let him go," another one pointed out in frustration.

"Excuse me, I think I'm the priority here!" Aerith exclaimed, a small squeak of fright sounding from the back of her throat as Cloud pulled her closer. He'd have to apologize later if he hurt her.

"Don't worry," a new, younger voice drawled out. The lackeys backed farther into the room to allow the new person in. It was a young man with silver hair and dark clothing, complete with a cap on his head. He eyed the situation impassively, as if he wandered into strangers holding President Shinra's ward hostage all the time. "I've got this."

"Yeah right," unkempt hair scoffed, his pistol trained with deadly aim at Cloud's head. Cloud eyed the newcomer untrustingly. He didn't seem even remotely worried.

The newcomer's next words revealed exactly why. "He's not going to do anything, now that we have his accomplice too," he sighed as if this was common knowledge, his voice low and matter-of-fact. "We caught her upstairs. She was disguised well, but it seems she was on her way to visit the Don anyway." The newcomer smirked slightly at Cloud. "Now she'll be there a bit longer."

Cloud blanched. Were they talking about… _Tifa?_ Had she tried to come and rescue him? And with Aerith here too… Putting pieces together as rapidly as he could, Cloud wanted nothing more than to turn Aerith around and ask her what happened. Why was Tifa here? Why was she planning on visiting Don Corneo? Stuck like a deer in the headlights, he tried to school his expression into something akin to threatening. However, a nagging voice in the back of his head was telling him this was over now, there was no way he was in a good position that wouldn't put Tifa in a bad one. If Don Corneo had her… he almost shuddered as he remembered the weirdly creepy vibes the fat man had given off.

His body reacted before his mind was made up, and he loosened his grip on Aerith's waist, lowering his sword and letting it clatter to the ground as he set his jaw and put his hands up. Aerith scampered over to the other side of the room, whipping her head around to face him. Their gazes locked. She was frightened now, truly and properly. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in the slightest 'o,' worry and fear evident in every bit of her face.

"Relax," the cool, collected man told her. "You're safe now. The Don sends his regards at hearing of your presence in Wall Market. He invites you to dine with him once the tournament is over."

Cloud narrowed his eyes as Aerith cast one last terrified glance over her shoulder while being led out of the room. As he stared, he felt a heavy pain _THUMP_ against his skull and his knees buckled in surprise. Stars swam in his vision.

"Serves you right," muttered unkempt hair as he put his weapon of choice – his pistol – away and filed out of the room after Corneo's other lackeys. Cloud took a couple deep breaths, working through the pain that threatened to show his vision galaxies. He heard more than saw the door slam, and he was once again, utterly, truly alone.

 _Good,_ a small, pleased voice whispered in his ear amidst the angry drumming of the welt forming on his head. _Alone._


	8. Making High Friends in Low Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday, my friends! Those of you who celebrate Christmas, is it hard to believe for you that we're only a week away too? My mind is still stuck somewhere in late spring/early summer, so I'm having a tough time believing that my tree is up and my presents are wrapped. Anyway, I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Thank you as always to my wonderful beta and friend, Rand0mSmil3z, for taking a look at my chapters and offering some great suggestions. I love doing the same to her! Enjoy this chapter and thank you for all your kind words. I may not reply but I read every word you say, and I truly appreciate the support for my first multi-chapter FF7 fanfic!

_Aerith_

Aerith's knuckles trembled against the baroque wood that stood before her, and she sighed anxiously as she closed her eyes, a single tear falling down her cheek that wanted to be the first of many. She was feeling truly and utterly alone in a strange, unknown place, and her heart panged with worry as she thought of her new friends and their fates. _I was so close,_ she thought dismally as she took a couple deep breaths to steady herself. _I just wanted to help. I just wanted to find out what happened to Zack. I never wanted…_

Her thoughts trailed off and she inhaled shakily, straightened her back, and schooled her expression from worry to politeness – a feat that was proving more difficult each time she did it now. There would come a day when she would never have to fake an expression again, and if she could just get through tonight then she would see to it personally… Even if it meant never finding out what happened to her first love.

So Aerith, with a cautious steady knock on the door before her, began the newest step in her plan to now rescue _two_ people.

After a few nervous moments of waiting, the door unlocked, swung open, and Aerith found herself face-to-face with one of the three most important people in Wall Market, not counting Don Corneo himself. The face that greeted her was one etched in beauty, with makeup carefully and skillfully applied to accentuate suspicious eyes and a frowning mouth. If there was any recognition on the woman's face, she hid it well.

"We're closed," the woman spat with barely concealed venom, a tone that appropriately matched her face.

Aerith sighed once more and smiled, although the expression was tight and not as easygoing as she wished. "Are you Madame M?" she asked. The woman's eyes narrowed further, and she fluttered the fan extended in her left hand a few times.

"You're a long way from home," she retorted, her eyes trailing up and down Aerith's figure and poor attempt to hide her identity from the citizens of Wall Market. "And dressed horribly, if I may say so. Usually you're a bit more dressed for the public eye than _this_."

The setting sunlight that filtered through the gaping holes of sector six above them was quickly fading, and Aerith knew she didn't have much time before the colosseum tournament would be over and she would be expected at Corneo's manor. She folded her hands together, trying a new approach.

"Please," she almost begged, her voice coming out softer than she intended, "I need your help. Corneo has invited me to his manor tonight after the tournament, and I heard you could help me. He has my friends captive. Can…" she trailed off and sighed quickly, blinking tears away again. This was _ridiculous_ , she had _just_ met Tifa and Cloud only a few days prior, but having people she could even consider acquaintances was a new and painful experience she still wasn't used to, not since losing Zack. It took another steadying breath to finish her pleading, "Can you help me?"

Madame M huffed and stared at her angrily for a few moments, dissecting her like she was a piece of meat. Aerith felt more self-conscious under her withering gaze than she had ever felt with her fashion team or even with her guardian. It was as if the older woman was removing each layer of clothing, right down to the very skin and soft muscle underneath. It made her shiver.

"What do you expect me to do? Dress you?" Madame M scoffed.

Aerith nodded meekly. "Please," she whispered.

There was a heartbreaking, terrifying moment where Aerith thought she had made a mistake coming to one of the Trio, as the people in Wall Market had called them; that perhaps Madame M was just an angry woman satisfied with her position of peddling young women to be brides for a corrupt, carnivorous man like Don Corneo. For that single moment, she began to feel that she truly was alone after all.

Madame M huffed once, lifting her fan up next to her head to expose her face better. "Well don't just stand there then," she snapped. "Come in before somebody sees you."

Aerith blinked in surprise before lurching forward at her command, darting through the door and under Madame M's outstretched arm. The owner of the massage parlor shut the door with a final 'thud' and turned the latch to lock it, sealing them in.

She was now standing in a beautiful, colorful entry room complete with a counter and plenty of space to lounge. As she looked about herself in wonder, drinking in the sheer beauty of the room, she came across a rather surprising scene: two well-dressed men were looking at her curiously from their position on a fainting chair. Aerith recognized them – the other two members of the Trio?

"Gentlemen," Madame M said dryly from her position at the door, "Meet Aerith, President Shinra's ward."

One of the men, a gruff fellow with a leather vest and impressive dark mustache, harrumphed. "I thought I caught word of you being in town. What brings _your grace_ down from your palace on high?"

Aerith felt hot at his words, as if he was teasing her. She sighed and dropped the act, deciding now was as good a time as any to start her forthcomingness.

"Two of my friends have been captured by Don Corneo and I need help getting them out," she stated plainly. "They may have gotten…involved in nefarious acts. And Corneo is expecting me for a celebratory dinner after the end of the Corneo Cup, and I don't have anything to wear or any idea what I'm going to do to help them." The explanation pushed out of her like she was a faucet that wouldn't turn off; there was no backing down now. She squared her shoulders, set her feet apart in a determined stance, and continued, "I need help and I figured if anybody could help me, it was one of the Trio, so I came to Madame M…and yet…" she trailed off uncertainly, making quick eye contact with the owner of the market's inn – he stared at her unblinkingly, small smirk on his face – "here all three of you are. Will one of you help me?"

"Is this that kid fighting in the tournament? The Merc?" Gruff man asked. Aerith nodded silently. "Then the other must be the girl I endorsed for the audition for, Tifa."

"This is a rather shocking proposition, expecting us to follow you into treason with the man who has provided us all the comforts and wealth associated with our status," Madame M pointed out in a smooth, brutal tone.

"I know," Aerith said in a small voice. She took a steadying breath. "I'm asking a lot. But I've been in your position," she pushed on, growing bolder by the moment as she made her case. "I too am a pawn in my guardian's game. And if I'm sick of doing it, so should you be. Maybe you've been looking for an excuse to break free of this cycle of promoting violence towards young women and return to a safely run entertainment district. Maybe I'm who you've been waiting for."

This avenue of thought was a bold leap, even for Aerith's standards. She sucked in fresh air, her hands on her hips as she stared sanguinely at the three older adults in front of her. She was by no means a child, and yet in the presence of the Trio's seasoned expressions, she felt as if she barely had matured..

The silent man wearing a black and gold suit was the first to speak. "I like her," he murmured softly, gentle smirk and curious eyes never leaving her face.

"Of course you would, Andrea," the gruff man replied – gruffly. "You just want to spend time with your new _fascination_ , and this here girl is the only way you'll even have a chance at that."

 _Fascination?_ Aerith wondered internally, but she let the Trio talk out their thoughts while stretching her hands behind her and crossing her fingers in some childish plea for her half-baked plan to work.

"She makes a valid point," Madame M murmured, so low that Aerith almost didn't catch it. It was as if the woman was afraid of dishing out anything except sarcastic comments. The gruff man replied to her, something that she didn't catch except _"dangerous."_

"We would need to find you a worthy outfit for dinner with Don Corneo," Madame M said after a few more minutes of heated conversation where Aerith felt the back of her neck grow warm from their continued eyeing her. While she was used to attention, she could tell that throwing her life – and subsequently Cloud's and Tifa's lives – in their hands was probably a reckless decision, one that could have ended very poorly for her. "And we would need some further assistance."

"Does that mean…" Aerith trailed off, clasping her hands together and staring hopefully at the other woman with the words left unsaid: _that you'll help me?_

"Sure thing, kiddo," the gruff man replied as he stood up and reached out a hand, neither kindly nor unkindly. "Chocobo Sam, people call me. It's nice to put a personality to the face I've seen in magazines."

Aerith giggled a bit and shook his hand, trying to comprehend the confusing statement he just said. Andrea waved a hand from his position on the chair, not bothered with strict formalities.

"Andrea Rhodea. I'm the owner of the Honeybee Inn. Do you have accommodations for the evening?" When Aerith shook her head, he perked up a little, sitting up straighter. Words poured out of his mouth in a smooth, silky voice full of persuasion. "Then I _insist_ you join me this evening for entertainment, drinks, and a night in our best suite."

"Thank you so very much," Aerith gushed as a blush formed on her cheeks. She wasn't used to this kind of attention outside of the watchful gaze of President Shinra.

Madame M huffed again. "Well don't expect any special treatment from _me_ ," she retorted as she glared at the other two. "I'll be doing all the work here. I expect you to listen to everything I say."

Dutifully, Aerith nodded. "Of course, thank you," she replied and bowed her head respectfully. Madame M sighed, but the sigh didn't sound entirely displeased with the reaction.

"First of all, we don't usually do things for free," she prattled off. "The kind of gown we'll need for you will cost you… _handsomely._ "

Aerith was prepared for this. She pulled her purse out and waited expectantly for a price.

"One million gil," Madame M announced.

 _Well, that's a little more than I have on me,_ Aerith sighed to herself. "I can certainly get you the sum very soon. Here's what I have." She handed over the majority of what she had left, about 10,000 gil. Madame M pursed her lips but did not complain as she took the money and tucked it away in a drawer behind the counter. With the sliding of a lock, she slipped a tiny golden key up her sleeve where it had been hiding.

"Very well," she said. "Next, I need to procure some items, and we need to work quickly. The three of us are expected at the Corneo Cup finals soon." Madame M shot a pointed look at the other two members of the Trio. "If we're to make this work, we'll all need to play our parts."

"I will speak to our man on the inside," Andrea said lowly, and Aerith jumped a bit when she saw he was standing right behind her. He held out a hand and Aerith gave him hers. He kissed it, much in the way that Rufus Shinra had days before; however, he was much more genuine in his affection. "It is wonderful to meet a beautiful star such as yourself, my dear," he murmured into the skin of the back of her hand. "You are welcome to join us in the viewing box at the tournament finals."

"T-thank you," Aerith stuttered, moved by his touching offer.

Chocobo Sam sighed heavily, an annoyed grunt forcing its way from his throat while doing so. "I'll go get the best carriage ready for your trip to the mansion later," he announced before turning the lock and stomping back out the door. Andrea followed out behind him, shooting one more mysterious look at Aerith before disappearing from sight. Madame M closed and locked the door once more, and suddenly it was just the two of them.

"Look," the older woman muttered as she turned back to Aerith. "We don't do things for free here. If I help you by going against Corneo, I hope you understand that I will expect something in return."

"Like what?" Aerith asked innocently.

Madame M glared at her. "You have friends in high places," she answered. "You have powerful contacts, strong friends. What I am about to do could put my entire business in jeopardy. Your job is to figure out how to make my business better than ever, no matter the outcome of tonight's…incident, and my helping you to do it."

It was a big promise, that much Aerith could tell. She didn't even know where _she_ was going to end up when this was over. Had President Shinra realized she wasn't back in the tower? Had Rufus realized it? Had Reno told on her? The very thought made her palms sweaty. She didn't have too long, especially now that the most powerful man in the sector six undercity was aware of her presence. She knew Tseng and the Turks would come swooping in sooner rather than later, and then her chance at finding out anything regarding Zack would come to a screeching halt. She _had_ to figure out what happened; she was in too deep to back out now.

Letting a smile solidify the deal, Aerith nodded. "Of course," she promised. Madame M's lips pursed again, but there was a hint at the smallest, teensy smile within them.

And that's how, a couple hours later when the sun had fallen out of the sky completely and left a hazy green glow to the undercity below, Aerith found herself dutifully walking in fresh new heels across the uneven paver stones of Wall Market's roads towards the colosseum. Madame M had taken every liberty with the gown she was wearing, and while it was entirely too gaudy and difficult to move in for her liking, the one thing Aerith had been relieved by was that her hair was not pinched up against her skull; instead, soft, purposeful curls framed the face she had stared at in the mirror. Dressing up like this felt like a parting of the ways for her, a way to pay homage to her life with Shinra and to leave it behind altogether. She kept her eyes on her feet, watching each step she took from underneath a soft pile of red ruffles that flared out from her knees onward. A bold, tall slit all the way up to her thigh left room in the dress for a chilly evening breeze to gently brush against her skin, and she felt goosebumps form.

Not everybody recognized her. There were moments on her walk when she heard with a blush the outward thoughts of men towards her appearance, and Aerith was sure that her face would be just as red as her dress if it weren't for the careful layer of foundation that kept her skin milky pale and flawless. When she drew closer to the entrance to the tournament's building, the throngs of people around her parted to make way for her. She was obviously overdressed for an occasion as exciting and brutal as fighting.

"Through here, please," a kind gentleman greeted at the door, gesturing towards a previously unseen side entrance that seemed to materialize directly out of the wall. Aerith followed his gesture and entered the private elevator, offering a small smile to the man as he nodded and closed the door again. She was alone.

Aerith sighed nervously. _Why do I feel like I just entered a den of wolves?_ she wondered internally.

The elevator opened moments later, and she was welcomed to the VIP box by two waiting ushers who held open the door and took her hand to escort her inside. A long hallway on either side of her wrapped around to meet on the unknown other side; the arena, she guessed. The atmosphere back here was hushed and muted despite the excited roar of the waiting crowd on the other side of the wall, and Aerith moved hesitantly down the corridor, peeking her head around the corner to see the trio lounging and waiting for the excitement to start. Behind them was an entourage of young men and women dressed in ridiculously flashy, skin-tight bee outfits. And slouching in a chair against the wall was an all-too-familiar face set with dark eyes, silver hair, and an all-too-knowing expression.

Her heart leapt in her throat. _That's the man that took Tifa! He stopped Cloud's escape attempt!_ Pounding rang in her ears and she took a surprised step backwards when her eyes locked with the impassive ones that seemed to be expecting her. There was no surprise or recognition in his expression, something that threw her off. Instead, he nodded and gestured to the empty chair next to him, as if beckoning her to sit.

Aerith didn't know what to do. Her eyes darted over to the Trio to gauge their reactions to the situation. Chocobo Sam had noticed her first and his eyes narrowed back at the younger man who worked for Corneo. Then he, too, gestured her forward.

"The kid is fine," he called to her as he jerked a thumb at him. 'The kid' glared at the other guy before rolling his eyes. Aerith hesitantly stepped forward, finding momentum enough to reach the chair designated for her before she sank into it, keeping her back straight as she eyed him distrustfully.

"I'm Leslie," the younger man introduced in a bored voice. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier."

"You mean when you were kidnapping my friends?" she shot back with a frown, struggling to remain poised in front of anybody peering into the box when she wanted to do nothing more than take out her new staff and teach this man a lesson.

"Gotta keep up appearances," Leslie muttered under his breath. "It's not easy being in my position, trust me. Your friends are as safe as they can be right now. Well, maybe not both of them." His eyes narrowed as he gestured to the arena below them. Aerith leaned forward as the festivities of the evening began.

 _"In the city that never sleeps,_ " The first announcer began.

 _"In the paradise of debauchery and sin – of pain and pleasure!_ " the other man continued.

_"Where your every desire can be indulged for the right price – Wall Market!"_

_"To you esteemed connoisseurs of chaos and bloodshed –"_

Aerith tuned out the showy introductions and looked back at Leslie again, who seemed bored with the festivities.

"Are you really going to help us and move against Corneo?" she asked quietly, eyes shooting accusing daggers at him. Inside, she was cringing at the absurdness of her behavior – she was perfectly okay trusting _terrorists_ , of all people, but when it came to a random young man whom others were vouching for, she had a hard time believing him. Maybe it was just because she had seen him rip freedom right from under Cloud, and she had seen the momentary panic and resignation in his mako-stained eyes as he was forced to surrender once more.

And now he was back in the arena again, facing off against his chosen champion opponent – a man surrounded by two disgusting, twisted creatures.

She leaned further forward, trying to get a good look at Cloud. Of course from up here his face was masked, but he didn't seem to be too injured after the rest of his fights throughout the afternoon she hadn't witnessed. This was a relief. Whether potions or luck were on his side, she couldn't say from here.

The battle began easily enough. Cloud jumped right in with the same strategy as the first match she had watched. He started with a couple of lightning fast slashes with his sword, crippling the beast but not hindering it. He leapt back and dodged a pair of gnashing teeth from the second beast, countering with a quick fire spell to defend himself. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the first beast begin to sneak up behind him, but in an instant he was whirling around, sword out as he slashed everything in his way and leapt into the air, bringing his weapon down on top of the creature in a very final blow.

"Your boy has skills," Leslie commented nonchalantly as he looked up from his PHS. Aerith ignored him and especially the way he referred to Cloud as _her boy_ , but it then also reminded her to double check the special pocket Madame M had sewn for her deep in the ruffles at the bottom of the dress. A pocket was a must for concealing PHS's, and she was pleased hers was still with her.

Aerith turned back to the match just as Cloud finished off the second beast before advancing menacingly on the beastmaster. The other man put up his arms and offered a couple of quick punches, one which landed on the side of Cloud's face. He kept his face turned for a moment, apparently dazed. Aerith put a hand to her mouth, nerves leaping into her throat as she waited for the beastmaster to land his final blow. However, the man seemed frozen. Then he slowly fell backwards, and his shift in position revealed that Cloud had stuck him through with the buster sword. All three creatures defeated, the screen above caught Cloud's defiant glare into the crowd as he looked up. The audience roared their approval. Aerith stared at him, wondering if he would see her, but he made no move to even look towards the VIP box. She sighed as he disappeared from view to heal up before his next match.

" _Another win for The Merc!"_ The announcers were ecstatic as they spilled the results out. _"Maybe this merc has what it takes to get out of here in once piece!"_

 _"But will he?"_ the other voice asked in an obvious ploy for dramatization of events. _"Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen and all manner of creatures – the next fight is only minutes away!"_

Waiting wasn't Aerith's strong suit, so she stood up and smiled falsely sweet at Leslie before taking a turn back around to the quiet of the hallway. One of the ushers who helped her out earlier was standing by the secret entrance, but he made no motion to recognize she was even there as she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, drooping her shoulders for a moment and sighing.

Her dress was buzzing. Aerith peeked an eye open down at the hidden pocket where her PHS was and realized she wasn't just imagining it from the din of the arena. She bent over – a feat near impossible in this dress as she grit her teeth from the constricting movement – and coaxed the phone out, seeing that it was Kunsel calling. She answered it and pressed the phone tightly to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked in a louder voice than usual, hoping that he could hear her over the excitement from the crowd.

"Aerith?" Kunsel's voice was far away but relieved. "Boy, am I glad to hear from you! I never heard back earlier – what's going on? Did you find your guy? Do you need me to come pick you up?"

Aerith sighed, pressing her free hand to her eyes for a moment.

"Thanks for checking on me, Kunsel," she said appreciatively. "It's been quite a day, I'll just say that." The announcers had begun talking again, and it was even more difficult to converse now.

"Are you at some kind of event?" Kunsel's voice was suspicious. "Wait – no way. Are you at the Corneo Cup?"

She laughed nervously. "That's me," she said lightly. "Attending colosseum events while my friends are being held captive by the warlord of the town…"

There was a very, very long pause.

"You _what_?" he practically shouted, and Aerith held out the phone despite the loudness of the entertainment around her. "Friends? Did Tifa get caught too? Did _you_ get caught? Aerith, _do the Turks know you're there?_ " The end of his small rant was in a choked whisper, and she knew he was assuming the worst.

She took a deep breath, willing herself to believe what she was saying. In a reassuring voice, she replied, "I'm fine, Kunsel. I've…figured out what I need to do. I have allies down here now. We're going to rescue both Cloud and Tifa and get some answers. Maybe we'll even have time to find the guy who may know more about Zack's death! I'll be okay."

Well, that would do it. She had even convinced herself, and her hammering heartbeat slowed to a mere pace in her chest.

Kunsel made a loud scoffing noise over the phone. "Why do I not believe you?" he accused, but his tone was gentle, friendly. "You know I'm here, right? I'm free until tomorrow afternoon when I head out on my next mission. You could probably use the backup."

"Fine," Aerith sighed. "Let's make a deal. You meet me where you dropped me off at midnight. I'll have Cloud and Tifa with me. Does that sound good?"

"Yup," Kunsel agreed. "I may get down there earlier though. I'm worried about you, Aerith. Wall Market is dangerous and I don't want you surrounded by strangers."

Music blared as the second match of the final began, and Aerith could hear the commentary shining a positive light on Cloud. She was relieved for the moment. "Look, I gotta go," she told her friend. "I'll be okay. I just need to watch a few matches and hope that Cloud doesn't get killed, have dinner with Don Corneo himself, instigate a coup for Wall Market, and rescue Shinra's top wanted criminals. What could possibly go wrong?"

"You. Are. The. Worst," Kunsel growled, but he was exasperated more than anything. "I'll be down there no later than eleven. I expect you there by eleven-fifteen, or I'm going to start my own Wall Market coup to get you back."

"Yes, sir," Aerith teased back. "Gotta go now! Thanks for checking in!"

She clicked the receiver before he could reply. Kunsel could be a bit of a worrier, but she knew his heart was in the right place. Especially if the Turks did find her…she clenched her PHS a little harder than she meant to and her knuckle popped. Gasping quietly, she transferred the device to her other hand and shook out her fingers, trying to alleviate the sudden pain.

"Are you just going to hide back here?"

She whipped her head up to see Leslie standing there, frown on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall farther down the hallway. He was studying her. She blushed underneath her makeup, feeling the urge once again to pull out her staff and defend herself.

"No, I was just answering a call is all," she answered hotly.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he sighed dismissively. "Thought you would want to know your boyfriend beat Beck's Bandits. He has a few minutes until he's in the final with Chocobo Sam's champions. I doubt he'll beat them though." He frowned for a moment, as if seriously considering the option. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"You can be quite insufferable, do you know that?" Aerith groaned, squeezing her PHS in her other fist and stalking past him back to the viewing box. She threw herself back in her chair, using the position to slip her device back into the hidden ruffles of her dress. Leslie, who had followed her back, also sank back into his chair.

"I have some new intel," he muttered lowly so that only Aerith could hear.

She glared at him uncertainly. "Like what?"

He rolled his eyes at her tone. "The Don has taken a liking to your lady friend – Tifa, was it? He's debating not turning her over to the man upstairs. He wants to keep her for himself."

The very thought made Aerith's blood boil, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "The president would have Corneo's head if he heard somebody went against an order of his," she warned.

"I know, I'm just passing on what I've heard," he sighed. "It would mean that she'll be joining you for dinner, however. I thought you might like that tidbit of information."

The announcers began their final wind-up to the final of the Corneo Cup then, and Aerith took the moment in the utter noise of excitement spreading through the spectators like wildfire to contemplate his words. If her and Tifa were in the same room, perhaps they could fight their way out. The other woman had shown some impressive martial arts skills on her television debut as a Wutai spy working for Avalanche, and between Aerith's hidden staff and Tifa's fists, the two of them could have a fighting chance. The only issue was getting Cloud out too, because just from what Aerith knew about SOLDIERs there was no way he was being held anywhere normal or easy to break out of – he would be somewhere strong and fortified. This was going to be difficult… but maybe she could persuade Corneo for a tour of the mansion to figure out a good game plan…

Cloud's final fight ended up being against a pair of mechs courtesy of Shinra, nicknamed adorably with the names "Cutty" and "Sweepy." Indeed they did just that, cutting and sweeping their way across the arena as they tried to pin him in a corner. Aerith watched with bated breath, on the edge of her seat when he briefly disappeared from view as he got caught in a cycle of slashes from one of the two. In a moment he had leapt back to his feet, downed a potion – making a face in the process – and leapt forward with a powerful lightning spell that she felt the electricity from even as far as the VIP box. As small hairs stood up on her arms, she watched his continued dance with the machines, because it truly was like a dance. Cloud circled and slashed, looking for weak links in his opponents' metal exoskeletons as he stepped around his own feet, dodged attacks from them, and parried with his own jabs. Another thundara zapped through the air at his arm's command and finished off one of the two mechs, sending the other into a pure tizzy.

Cloud went on the defensive for a few moments, his sword guarding against some otherwise deadly attacks from the enraged mech. When the robot took a moment to recuperate, his opening came. In one deadly thrust, Cloud stood before twitching electronic parts, letting the dead machine slip to the arena floor in a helpless slump as he tugged his sword free and returned it to the magnet at his back.

He'd done it. Aerith almost stood up and cheered as she had earlier with Tifa until she remembered that she was not anonymous anymore. Still, she settled for rather excited applause and a big grin as she watched her friend. He was looking up at the audience again with a small cut on his cheek and messier hair than usual. He'd been at this for awhile now, and finally he would hopefully get a break.

Cloud turned his head to the VIP box and before Aerith realized it, and their eyes locked. His widened in surprise, and she gave the slightest of waves, praying that nobody caught on. She smiled encouragingly, hoping that he understood she was here to help him.

But Cloud didn't stop staring, and it wasn't until a roar of confetti blasted from some unseen contraption in the ceiling that she looked away and up in awe, admiring the way everything glittered under the lights. She glanced back down and saw that Cloud had begun heading back towards the exit. Would he finally be free?

 _As if,_ she scoffed. If she could tell anything about Don Corneo, it was that he had some similarities to President Shinra, and providing captives an escape was _not_ a quality either possessed.

Nope, she knew she had to do this the old-fashioned way. Aerith sighed when Leslie stood up and gestured for her to follow them. It was time to begin the next phase of her plan. Minimized staff itching at her fingertips, she knew she was as ready as she could be.

* * *

_Cloud_

Cloud was completely and utterly trapped, and he _hated_ it.

At least this time when returning to this stupid dungeon in Don Corneo's basement, he could map out the way out of the ridiculously large mansion he was currently in – or underneath? He glowered angrily at the rough stone walls of the basement he was once again stuck inside. _Stuck_ was too big of a word, although he may as well be trapped somewhere and injured again for all the good being able to move in his prison would do – he couldn't do anything without potentially getting Tifa harmed. Glaring up at the stupid cage he was in before, Cloud was minutely grateful that at least this time he was able to move around freely. It had been a few minutes since Corneo's men had taken Tifa – who had been dressed quite nicely in her and Aerith's previous attempt to rescue _him_ – and now he was once again alone with just his thoughts.

Well, not _completely_ alone, although Cloud was doing absolutely everything in his power to convince himself that he was, because hallucinations didn't count as company.

Cloud had dealt with many ridiculous things in his twenty-one years, and despite the large, five-year gap in his memory that he did his best not to focus on, he felt sound of mind and body. Pushing his problems away for another time had always worked out as the best way to go, so at this moment he was completely, absolutely fine with ignoring the elephant in the room.

His head hammered painfully and Cloud winced a bit, quickly bringing a gloved hand up. This wasn't due to the lovely pistol-whip he'd suffered to the back of the head earlier; he'd had a few potions and a couple battles with actual monsters since then. No, this was that annoyingly familiar headache that always seemed to accompany the growing hallucinations and strange not-memories that fought their way to the forefront of his mind. He put pressure on his forehead, trying to force the mounting tension away from behind his eyes.

"Shut up," he muttered at the presence he _knew_ wasn't in the room with him. He was completely alone, and of course he knew that. And yet…

" _I didn't say anything._ "

The silky-smooth low voice responded in his head, although it could have just as easily been right next to him. Cloud frowned angrily, shifting his body to the left and slouching against the wall in his sitting position. He was turning his back to his problems again, but that couldn't be the priority with so much at stake. Instead of focusing on the annoyance he couldn't control, he took his umpteenth look at the two doors to the place, studying their framework and debating his chances on ripping one of the doors off its hinges, running upstairs and grabbing Tifa, and getting the hell out of here.

_Now if only I could leave behind my uninvited guest as well._

He hated being alone with his thoughts and no clear, concise way to funnel them towards something productive. Instead, Cloud focused on another curious matter: the issue of Aerith, dressed up in an extremely flattering dress – he was definitely _not_ blushing to himself at the thought of it, because he did _not_ blush - sitting in the VIP box with the other fancily dressed people like she had been invited. Of course, glamour seemed to be the life she was used to living, so he wasn't sure why he was so surprised. Maybe it was just the fact that she was flaunting her status down in Wall Market that surprised him. What would President Shinra think?

The fact that she was here at all surprised him as well, even after Tifa's attempted explanation of their half-baked rescue plan for him. Yet, Aerith's beautiful, sheepish, anxious face staring down at him continued to hold itself as a priority in his mind. He hoped her remaining presence wasn't a sign that she was doing something stupid to try and help them; he could and would figure something out himself, not to mention that Tifa was also a fighter.

" _You think too much._ "

There it was again, that shivering voice taking up residence in his head and dredging up not-memories he'd rather forget. "Leave me alone," Cloud spat at the voice behind him, squeezing his eyes shut in annoyance. "You're not here."

" _I'm not?_ "

The voice sounded closer than before, which was impossible because it was _in his head_. This prompted Cloud to finally give into his mind's stupid tricks, and he shifted his head back to glare at the apparition opposite him. While he was only a memory, the image of Sephiroth also leaning against the wall and crossing his arms in front of him still left Cloud a bit breathless in shock.

"What do you want?" Cloud growled, forcing anger to outweigh any surprise he may have felt.

" _That is…inconsequential._ " Sephiroth's voice slid through his ears, dredging a horrific, achingly familiar feeling he couldn't place a name for to the forefront of his emotions. Cloud swallowed and sighed.

"If you're going to haunt me, the least you can do is state your damn intentions."

When Sephiroth didn't answer, Cloud leapt to his feet and stretched his arms. Pointedly ignoring the ghostly hallucination again, instead he walked around the perimeter of the room, studying the useless contents in case there was something valuable to work with. He pushed aside the pounding in his head as his eyes focused in on a potential weapon – an old, rusty chain curled up in a heap on top of some old pieces of fabric – sheets? Plucking the metal from its bed, he was careful to still its movement so that it didn't make noise. While there was nobody standing right outside his door, he didn't know if somebody was listening in nearby. _Another reason to stop talking to yourself,_ he reminded himself glumly.

And yet, when he turned back around, the apparition of Sephiroth was gone. Cloud let out the smallest sigh of relief, glad his mind's mini torture was done for now. With the room to himself once more, Cloud hefted himself and his only option for a weapon onto the grotesque stone slab in the middle of the room. He did his best not to study the dark, dried stains that peppered his current seat. Instead, he focused his attention on the chain, yanking it in places to see if it would work well enough to suite his needs. He could probably use it as a whip, or his other option was to go for a good old-fashioned strangulation. As he tugged on either end, Cloud pondered which option would best for him.

He didn't get a chance to contemplate too long, however, as a sudden sound from upstairs distracted him... one that sounded strangely like a crash.


	9. My Dinner With Corneo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to my readers who celebrate it! This year has been so tumultuous and I for one am still finding it hard to believe we've reached the end of the year. Having this amazing fandom to be a part of has certainly made 2020 better for me, that's for sure. I am thankful for all of you, no matter when you're reading this. As always, thank you to my wonderful beta and best friend, Rand0mSmil3z (SHE GIFTED ME THAT NESSIE LADLE EVERYBODY WANTS!), for editing my chapters!

_Aerith_

The first thing Aerith thought when she walked through not one, not two, but _three_ sets of doors to get into Corneo's mansion was that this place was fortified like a mini Shinra building. As she was escorted inside, she was keenly aware of many guards – all of the male variety – who gave her looks anywhere between awe and hunger, the latter of which sent chills down her exposed back. She kept her smile polite and unassuming as she gazed directly ahead. Leslie himself led the way through the final set of doors and into a large atrium of a room, one surrounded by gaudy clutter that better suited the home of a hoarder. A single grand staircase spiraled up the right side of the room, leading to three red doors. Leslie gave a curt nod to a few more men. At least one of them was eyeing her figure up and down, and it made her stomach sink a bit. This place was _not good._

"Don Corneo has set a special dining space for the three of you tonight," Leslie said impassively as he waited for her at the top of the stairs. These new heels were not making Aerith any faster, and she was incredibly frustrated with their lack of practicality, which was proving to be even worse than an average pair of heels from her fashion team on a good day.

She sighed instead, flashing him a suspicious look as she reached the top of the stairs. "So just Don Corneo, Tifa, and me?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm sure a few others will be hanging about… I'll stick around, too," he said lowly as he paused in front of the middle of the rooms. He pushed the doors open to reveal a hallway and _another_ set of doors. Aerith was beginning to think this man had a fetish for doors.

Thankfully this was the last set of doors, because once they opened the room before her came into view and she instantly met Tifa's anxious wine-colored eyes. The other woman was still in her nice outfit, but her makeup was a bit smudged and the worry that flashed across her face as they locked eyes left small foundation creases on her forehead. Aerith turned her polite gaze to the ruler of Wall Market, a short, pudgy man with a curl of hair on his shiny head and beady eyes that, complete with the accompanying smirk, also seemed to mentally undress her.

 _Maybe this was a bad idea._ The thought flickered to the forefront of her uneasy mind, but Aerith pushed it back with a hard shove. There was no turning back now.

"Welcome to Wall Market," Don Corneo greeted in a high, reedy voice as he stood, raising his arms and giving her a cheeky grin. "I couldn't believe my ears when I heard our esteemed president's own ward was here watching the festivities of my colosseum tournament! What brings you down here, _Aerith_?"

He said her name in a pointed and drawn-out manner, ending the name with an exaggeration of his tongue between teeth. Beside him, Tifa looked down at her lap with wide eyes. Aerith let this slide.

"I may have snuck out of the Shinra building for some entertainment," she replied with an excited giggle. "It's quite fun to leave the stuffy atmosphere and come visit a place that's so vibrant and…refreshing!" While this wasn't a complete lie, saying it to the very obvious villain in the room felt wrong to her. She didn't have the opportunity to feel discomfort, however, as Corneo gestured her towards the chair sitting to his right. As she walked forward, she took in the surroundings with a quick, sharp eye – there were two other doors in the room, one straight back and one that led to the left. Both were sealed up tight and the one on the left had a guard standing in front of it.

Aerith took the offered chair and smiled thankfully as she sank into it. She snuck a curious glance back to Tifa, something that was not missed by the slimy man next to her.

"I see you've noticed my new to-be bride," Corneo boasted proudly as he lounged back in his chair. "Lovely little thing, isn't she? So…delicate." His grin was creepy enough to make the hairs on Aerith's arms stand up. Everything about him screamed danger.

"It's nice to meet you," she said brightly to Tifa instead, offering a warm smile that she hoped convey that she was here to help. Tifa didn't look very encouraged by the interaction, but she shot a tiny, stiff smile back.

" _Food!_ " Corneo demanded then, shouting to the ceiling and startling both women. Almost instantaneously, a couple of very young, nervous ladies came out with steaming plates of food. Both were wearing some ridiculous outfit that revealed more than necessary, and Aerith looked away before she could see much more. The very sight of them made her fingers itch for the staff waiting for her to summon it and begin her conquest for her friends. _Not yet,_ she internally reminded herself. _Wait for an opening._

Steamed potatoes, meat, and a side of vegetables were placed in front of her. The food smelled and looked delicious, and considering the last time she'd eaten properly – aside from that chocobo pop earlier – was back in her apartment, it was no surprise as to why. The butterflies thrumming in her stomach didn't deter her from taking in a deep breath through her nose to enjoy the wonderful aromas. Across from her, Tifa looked like she was going to be sick.

"Only the finest for the Star of Midgar," Corneo said pleasantly, waving a utensil with a potato stabbed through it towards her. Aerith cringed at the tabloid nickname, but she nodded her head in thanks as she picked up her utensils to eat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leslie standing by the door, expression stoic as he watched them.

Watched _her_.

Aerith took a bite of her food, savoring the spices that pleasantly hit her tongue as she did so. She took a deep breath after swallowing. "So how long have you been here in Wall Market?" she asked Corneo conversationally, figuring that talking would be better than an awkward silence with chewing. In her head, she was debating the chances that Cloud was somewhere nearby.

Corneo laughed with a full mouth of food, some of which snuck out his lips and landed on the tablecloth. "I've been here for a few years," he replied jovially as he swallowed noisily while skewering some meat off his plate. "I've been here long enough to have raised Wall Market from the boring shanty town it was into the glorious spectacle you see today!" His gesture sent the freshly-skewered piece of meat flying. It hit the wall next to the guard's head and fell, forgotten, to the floor. Corneo shrugged and stabbed another piece. "People come from all over to visit Wall Market, the shining jewel of the Midgar slums. Even _you_ were curious enough to peek at our entertainment." He smirked at her, and Aerith flushed a bit and looked at Tifa again. Tifa was watching her carefully. She hadn't even begun to touch her food, and Aerith doubted she would.

She let the subject drop for a bit as Corneo hummed contentedly to himself with his food. He kept grinning slyly over at Tifa while he did so. "Come on, kitten," he coaxed with a piece of meat on the end of his fork. "You _need_ to eat."

Tifa turned her head away. Aerith's heart began to race as she thought quickly to herself. Tifa seemed a bit out of sorts for now, but would she be ready to fight if Aerith instigated one? They had only just met earlier that day, so she wasn't entirely sure.

Corneo went back to ignoring Tifa for a moment, something which Aerith was secretly happy for. As she did a quick scan of the room again, she looked for anything that might help their plight – and then she saw it. The soft glint of steel drew her attention to the back corner of the room, where an all-too-familiar oversized sword rested casually against a backdrop of maroon curtains. At its base on the floor was a small bag that was half open and revealing an impressive array of materia. At the sight of Cloud's things, she almost visibly relaxed. He was nearby and she was the only one who could help.

"So how long have you two known each other?" she asked Corneo cheerfully, indicating his relationship with Tifa in her question. A boldness that had been lying dormant before flared up brilliantly with the reminder that she wasn't helpless this time, and she most certainly wasn't unarmed. _I got this._

Corneo set down his fork on a licked-clean plate, patting his belly in contentedness. "Not long at all," he replied with a malicious smile, "but I expect we'll be well acquainted soon enough."

"But how did you meet?" she pressed. Tifa looked up at her sharply, tilting her head as her gaze filled with confusion. Aerith smiled sweetly at her, pushing her plate away and resting folded hands on the table in front of her.

"It's a bit of a wild story," Corneo introduced. "It's one full of betrayal! Scandal! Secrecy!" the pleased tone of his voice did little to bring down Aerith's new assured confidence, and she just shot him a quick grin.

"Oh _do tell,_ " she encouraged. Meanwhile, Tifa's eyes had narrowed a bit and she looked from Aerith to the door where the bodyguard stood behind her right shoulder. Aerith realized that she was trying to tell her something. _Is that where Cloud is,_ she mused to herself. Back at the table, Corneo was ramping up to tell some outlandishly long version of what she knew to be a very short kidnapping followed by some imprisonment on Tifa's part.

The determined anticipation thrumming in her veins and bringing adrenaline through her entire circulation system led Aerith to know that it was time.

"I -"

"Actually, I'm going to stop you right there," she interrupted with a cheeky grin. "I don't actually care very much. You can shut your mouth now." Standing up, Aerith stretched her arms and fingers above her head, exposing more of her bare skin than she would like but she figured a distracting article of clothing was all she needed to help her situation now.

" _What are you doing_?" Tifa asked insistently, her voice wavering and eyes wide as saucers as she watched.

Aerith winked at her before turning back to a suddenly dumbfounded Corneo. "I'm not here because I cared about your tournaments or your fancy entertainment, and I am most certainly not here because I cared for your _company_ ," she said boldly. "Actually, Mr. Corneo, it's the very opposite. I'm on a mission of my own, and you are making my mission very difficult. So I will be taking my friends with me now, thank you."

She gave him the biggest, flirtiest smile she could muster. Corneo's eyes narrowed and darted between the two women. "So you're _friends_ ," he muttered thoughtfully. "I have to say, I certainly didn't see that coming, especially since one of you is a terrorist."

"What can I say?" Aerith asked with a flutter of her eyelashes as she held her arms behind her, leaning forward with a leering smile of her own. "I'm a woman of many interests, none of which Midgar knows about. Now, about my request…" Having successfully exposed her true intentions, she knew it was now or never. With a quick snap she materialized her staff and brandished it at Corneo.

"Boss!" the guard over her shoulder yelped.

"Shut it!" Corneo growled, his face twisting as he stared at the staff in front of his chest. "This bitch doesn't know anything about using weapons."

That made Aerith's blood boil, and she held her staff up, focusing on the table before them. Magic flew from the staff to the table, effectively cracking the ornate wood in two and sending the fragile dishes scattering across the floor in a loud cacophony of glass breaking. The resulting crash made Corneo jump back and Tifa leapt from her seat, all traces of anxiousness disappearing from her face as she glared at the man who had taken her prisoner. Aerith turned around and shot a spell with her fire materia – _yes!_ Elation sang through her veins as her dreams of using her first materia came to fruition– towards the other man in the room. He cried out as fire enveloped his chest and sent him sprawling to the floor.

Satisfied, Aerith looked back at Leslie, the latter of whom hadn't moved. He stood as impassive as ever, arms crossed as he silently watched the scene unfold. As much as she didn't trust the man, Aerith realized that he was on her side. That small victory sorted, she turned back on Corneo just as Tifa landed a well-aimed kick for Corneo's now-full middle. The pudgy man yelped and skidded back, lips twisting into a snarl.

"You bitches deserve what's coming to you," he spat as his hands brandished into fists and he leapt around his desk, rummaging in a drawer.

"That's enough from you," Leslie said calmly from behind her. Aerith looked back at him to see he held a pistol aimed directly at Corneo's head. His face was still as blank as ever, but Aerith thought if she looked hard enough she could see a brimming fire beneath his silver eyes. He walked forward, stepping expertly around the broken table and shattered dishes without looking away. "You're going to pay for everything you did. For everybody you hurt."

There was a commotion from the other side of the door Leslie had just left, and Aerith turned around quickly with her staff, only to see that a bar had been slid across the door and locked them in. Tifa ran over to her side, panting a bit.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she asked quickly as she balled her hands into fists and kept an eye on the growing tension from the two men in the room.

Aerith smiled. "Saving you two, of course," she replied simply. "I won't let my friends get taken to my guardian, not when I know what he does to traitors."

Tifa stared at her for a long second, expression indecipherable. "Isn't that you too, now?" Her voice was quiet. Aerith shrugged while keeping the grin on her face, not letting the jolt of realization in her heart deter her from her current course of action. It wasn't as if she was worth anything to the president anymore, anyway.

"Leslie?" she asked instead of addressing the obvious answer to Tifa's question. "Do you want any help?"

As if waiting for her question, Leslie squeezed the trigger. A loud, resounding bang echoed throughout the room, causing Aerith's ears to scream. She dropped her staff and held her hands up to them, watching in shock as red blossomed on the side of Don Corneo's forehead and trickled down into his enraged, shocked eyes. The ruler of Wall Market's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell unceremoniously behind his desk. .

"No thank you," Leslie replied quietly, slowly lowering his weapon.

Tifa's hands were over her mouth. Aerith shook her head, trying to get rid of the ringing in her ears. The disruption outside the door became more pronounced as angry shouts overtook the room through the thick, wooden door. Aerith realized through a shocked, hazy mind that maybe all those doors were beneficial after all.

"You killed him," Tifa gasped. Leslie turned around to face them. The calm façade had dropped for now, instead replaced with one of surprising relief.

He sighed, removing his cap and running a hand through his silver hair. "He's not dead, I just grazed him. He'll live, but he probably won't be happy about it. I have been looking for an opportunity to overpower that son of a bitch for a long time now. He took my fiancé from me. I haven't seen her since," he explained bitterly. "The least I could do was pause the cycle of pain and suffering, and I needed allies to do it."

The fog was leaving and although Aerith couldn't quite get over a gun being used in the same room as her by this new ally, she felt her feet moving forward and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Nobody should have to go through losing somebody like that. Thank you for helping me."

Leslie's response was a quick sigh, and he nodded towards the side door. "Your friend is down there," he said as he reached into his pocket and took a key. He handed it to her. "You can get out the other door from down there, sneak around the other guys, and escape."

"But what about you?" Tifa asked as she came up behind Aerith. "Won't they hurt you?"

He shrugged. "I can defend myself," he answered. "Besides, if I can lock Corneo up, nobody is lining their pockets anymore. Wall Market needs new leadership. Maybe I can do something to help that. Now go, grab your gear, rescue your friend, and get out of here." He gestured wearily again. Aerith stepped around him and pursed her lips at the large sword in front of her. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt, giving a quick pull and finding it surprisingly lighter than she had anticipated. Tifa grabbed the bag of materia next to her.

With one final grateful smile towards Leslie, Aerith followed Tifa towards the door, key pressed tightly in one hand and sword wrapped in the other.

_Let's go rescue Cloud._

* * *

_Cloud_

At the muffled crashing noise, Cloud jumped to his feet, white knuckles wrapping instinctively around his new, rusty weapon. There was a commotion upstairs now, and he moved over to the door silently as he wondered if this was his moment to try and escape. He kept his back pressed against the wall, chain held in one hand as he held his breath.

_BANG._

The yelling from numerous people upstairs had dimmed now with the obvious sound of a gunshot, and Cloud wondered wildly if Tifa was okay. His adrenaline started pumping and his muscles tensed as he heard the unmistakable sound of noisy shoes clambering down the stairs. He tensed in anticipation, bringing the rusty chain up as he prepared to strike.

The door made a _thud_ noise and Cloud looked at it in confusion, poised arm dropping ever-so-slightly.

"This key isn't working!" Tifa's voice sounded through the door.

"I can fix that," Aerith's softer voice replied, although a hint of an edge sat in hers.

Cloud dropped the chain in surprise. "Guys?" he asked uncertainly.

"Hey Cloud!" Aerith said cheerfully. "Stand back, I'm going to burn down the door."

"Wait, _what_ –" Cloud was cut off as the roaring of a fire spell hit the other side of the door. Smoke began to seep in from underneath, and Cloud backed up quickly. There was a loud shout, and then the door – charring quickly from the flames that licked up it – swung open before falling off its hinges and crashing to the ground. Tifa stood on the other side, lowering the leg that had just delivered the excellent kick that opened his escape route. Both women were still dressed very nicely, and Aerith was holding a staff offensively, that even as he watched she made disappear before his very eyes. He gaped. Aerith, the President's ward, had a _weapon_?

Aerith whipped around and pulled something off the stairs – his sword, he realized in relief. His mind was still reeling as he accepted the sword and fit it on his back. The familiar weight brought a comfort he'd been desperately missing.

"How did you – what happened?" He tried asking multiple questions at once, flabbergasted as he stood there with his hands on his hips. All three of them stepped back as the door fully burst into flames on the ground in front of them.

Tifa nervously glanced the way they came. "We don't have much time," she rushed. "We need to get out of here before we get caught."

Aerith rushed toward the opposite door, pausing as she took in the various discarded objects around her dress's ruffled base. "Ew," she complained, "What _is_ this place?"

"You don't want to know," Tifa assured. "Now come on, let's get going."

Cloud stepped around the fallen, smoking door just as Aerith turned a key in the lock and opened the other exit to reveal a small antechamber. The only purpose to this room seemed to be a path between his cell and a set of tall, ominous stairs that were poorly lit by flickering lamplight. The dark, damp stone walls were menacing already, but the steep incline that had his neck aching just to peer up made this place seem all the more dank and ominous.

While he had been studying the dismal conditions of the underneath of Corneo's mansion, Tifa and Aerith had already begun their ascent with a strong sense of urgency, Tifa leading the way. Cloud jogged up the stairs after the women, marveling at the way Aerith moved in the ridiculous heels that barely passed for shoes. He had no sooner thought that then Aerith missed a step and her foot crumbled beneath her. Cloud reached out and grabbed her elbow to stop her from falling the rest of the way back down the stairs.

"You okay?" he asked.

She let out a breathless laugh and nodded, face tinged pink under smearing makeup. "Yes, thank you," she responded with a radiant smile that rendered him speechless. Her smile grew as she planted her feet and cleared her throat gently. Cloud realized he was still holding her arm and he jerked his hand away quickly, feeling his face warm up as he looked elsewhere.

"Let's go," he urged as he gestured for Aerith to go first. She giggled a bit and obliged.

At the top of the stairs they entered a hoarder's dream of a room; filled to the brim with junk, there were only small paths throughout that led from this door to the one on the other side of the pile. Tifa stopped and her breath hitched. "We need to get out of here fast," she advised. "This room is rigged with gas."

That was enough for Cloud to move quicker, if his pain-induced hazy memories were any indication of the effects of said gas. He took the lead and reached the other side of the room first, but yanking on the door proved fruitless as it was locked. Aerith stepped forward with her key again and tried it, but to no avail. She shook her head with wide eyes.

"Do you want me to burn this door down too?" she asked. Her voice was laughingly soft for somebody looking to inflict violence.

Cloud smiled wryly, gripping the hilt of his sword and bringing it out. "Nah," he replied. "Allow me." With a quick swing of his favorite weapon, he'd knocked the knob clean off and the door shuddered, swinging open reluctantly. Cloud smirked as he holstered his sword and pushed the door open the rest of the way to reveal another long hallway to yet another door. He turned back for a moment. "Any enemies?" he asked, his tone deathly quiet.

Tifa bit her lip. "Maybe," she said in a hushed voice. "Our new friend was going to keep them occupied."

 _New friend?_ Cloud frowned.

Aerith opened her fist and the staff reappeared once again in anticipation. At the sight of his staring, she beamed at him and showed off the weapon. "Do you like it?" she asked, obviously pleased. "Of all things to happen, I didn't think Rufus would teach me how to use a weapon, let alone use it!"

Cloud eyed the staff distrustfully. "Rufus…Shinra? He gave that to you?" he asked uncertainly. "Why would he do that?"

"I think he has some nefarious plan, but I can't be bothered at the moment." Aerith shrugged, a grin stretching across her face as she lifted it and gestured for Tifa to open the final door back out to the main room. Cloud gripped the hilt of his sword once more, anticipation building in his muscles as he waited for the reveal. Tifa gave a heavy push on the door and it creaked open.

As they tentatively stepped into the hall, weapons and fists at the ready, they were greeted by an empty second floor. Aerith stepped forward first and peered down below, turning back to shake her head. "Nobody here," she whispered.

"Good," Cloud said firmly. "Let's get going then."

When they passed the middle of the three doors that made the upstairs, they heard scuffling and muffled shouting. Cloud quickened his pace to avoid whatever was behind there – there was _no way_ he was allowing himself to be put in such a dangerous position again. Down the stairs and out the main doors, they were uninterrupted in their flight. It wasn't until they were all the way back at the entrance to the mansion that he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and put away his sword. Aerith's staff disappeared again before Cloud could even catch it in the light of the lanterns from above. Tifa stepped ahead a bit and crossed her arms to hug herself as she determinedly looked anywhere but at the mansion they'd just escaped.

"What time is it?" Aerith asked quickly as she bent over to try and reach at the ruffles of her dress. She was obviously trying to grab something.

Confused by her question accompanied by her movements, he crossed his arms and tilted his head, questioning in return, "What are you doing?"

"My PHS is – hidden down – here," she grunted in annoyance as she huffed and straightened up. She crossed her arms too. "Can you help a girl out?"

It took a moment for Cloud to realize she was talking to him. He made a noise of confusion but obediently knelt. "Where is it?" he deadpanned, feeling a light blush creeping up his face.

"On the side there, see? Yeah, there!" Aerith encouraged with a gleeful cheer as he found the hidden pocket and pulled out the device. He stood back up and handed it over. She took it and began furiously typing.

Tifa sighed and turned back around, looking visibly uncomfortable. "Come on guys," she said in a whisper. "I don't want to be in Wall Market any longer than we need to be."

Cloud and Aerith both nodded, and they began walking away from the mansion at a quick but hopefully unassuming pace. Unfortunately, the women weren't dressed conspicuously enough to not be noticed, but Cloud's presence seemed to at least subdue the greedy glances coming their way. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and glared menacingly at any who looked too eager. His method worked.

Aerith flashed him a grateful smile and fell into step beside him.

"You did a great job in the tournament," she said shyly.

Cloud shrugged and looked off in the distance. "I did what I needed to do," he replied. Inwardly, he winced at the crassness of the words, and quickly added, "but thank you." _Was that nicer?_

"Did you really just get Cloud to use manners?" Tifa asked incredulously from in front of them. "You stayed to rescue us, deceived Don Corneo, had his own people turn against him, _and_ you're teaching Cloud to say please and thank you? You are an absolute miracle worker, Aerith."

Aerith laughed, a rich, hearty sound that made Cloud's heart leap in his chest. His eyes drifted over to her as she glanced back down at her PHS. Her eyes lit up in the soft glow of the screen.

"Kunsel is waiting for us!" she announced and met his gaze once more. She beamed, and it gave Cloud pause as he remembered something important.

He slowed to a stop. "Hold up," he said to the other two. "We have unfinished business in Wall Market."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded towards Aerith. "We were supposed to come here and get some answers," he answered simply.

Recognition flooded Aerith's expression. "That's right," she gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth. "The man who might know about Za – I mean, about my friend."

Cloud's head gave a painful, nasty throb and he grit his teeth. _Not now,_ he internally scolded himself. _I do_ not _need to deal with hallucinations again._

"I don't know…" Tifa trailed off, looking back towards the way they were headed. "I'd feel much better getting out of here first. Maybe we can come back another day?"

"Today's the last day he's here in town," Cloud reminded her. "Why don't you go on ahead and meet up with Aerith's friend, and I'll escort her to get her answers."

Aerith stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Tifa's shoulder, adding, "Yeah Tifa, Kunsel is friendly! He could keep you company!"

Tifa bit her lip but nodded her acceptance to the suggestion. "All right," she sighed. "I'll go do that. But don't take too long, okay? Cloud will probably be recognized, so be careful."

"I'm not a child, I can defend myself," Cloud groaned, but he wasn't upset. Tifa's caring for his wellbeing was touching and made him feel not so alone. "Where is this man supposed to be, anyway?"

"The Honeybee Inn?" Tifa's response was unsure but that made Aerith perk up.

"I know the owner," she explained her reaction with a quick smile. "He's a friend, so I can get us in easily."

And so Tifa headed in one direction, while Aerith pulled Cloud along in another. Cloud, having been in Sector 7 for a few months but not having traveled out of his way to Wall Market before, was truly a fish out of water in this new location. He kept his eyes peeled to the back alleys that were everywhere, as each produced a different scene including shady characters he'd rather not meet with Aerith around.

Speaking of Aerith, she seemed to be having the time of her life. At some point she'd taken his hand and dragged him behind her, not giving him a say in the matter. Of course, he could rip away his hand easily – strength wasn't an issue – but for some reason, he didn't. Her hand was soft to the touch, something he could tell even with his gloves on, and the sudden human connection sent a small trail of tingling up his fingertips. She only let go when they reached a downward staircase, and there she dropped his hand just to pull up the dress she was wearing so she could get down the stairs more carefully.

"There it is!" Aerith said cheerfully once they reached the bottom of the stairs. She pointed to their right. "Tifa and I passed it earlier when we were trying to figure out if anybody had seen you."

Cloud's eyes narrowed at the obnoxious, lavender front with cheerful pink letters and the impatient patrons waiting outside the red curtain blocking their entrance. This place didn't scream fancy, but it didn't scream shady, either. He supposed that was a small victory as Aerith grabbed his hand once more and hauled him over to the entrance of the Honeybee Inn. Through the curtain was a small, posh entrance room with a few guests and another curtain leading further into the inn. A carpeted staircase led around an unseen corner and up to the next level. Excitement trilled the air from the fast-paced boisterous music that assaulted his ears. The entire place was far too _much_ for his senses to bear.

Aerith approached the smiling clerk behind the counter. "Hi!" she greeted happily. "I'm Aerith. Andrea told me I could spend some time here."

"Welcome to the Honeybee Inn!" To Cloud's amazement, the clerk didn't even offer a second glance at her name or appearance. It was if he saw celebrities every day. "Mr. Rhodea mentioned you may be stopping by, so we have the best suite reserved for you, ma'am. He also insisted you indulge him in an evening of entertainment, if that interests you. The show will begin soon."

Eyes alight with curiosity and excitement, Aerith smiled wistfully at Cloud, who shook his head. They didn't have time to dally about, not when Corneo's men could be after them. Instead, he addressed the clerk. "We're looking for somebody. A farmer who comes through town every once in awhile, loves to tell stories. Any idea where we can find him?"

"Of course, you're talking about Fletcher," the clerk responded with a direct smile. "He usually habits the bar around this time, and he's bound to have a few drinks in him."

 _Good,_ Cloud thought to himself. _May be easier to get information from him._ He raised an eyebrow at Aerith, who accepted the keycard handed to her.

"Your room is upstairs and all the way down the hall at the very end," he instructed with a warm, genuine smile. "You should be able to catch the show and find Fletcher before the evening is out, if you're quick."

"Thank you very much," Aerith said sincerely as she gave a glance back to Cloud. "Come on, Cloud! Let's check out the room first!"

Cloud sighed. "Is this really necessary?" he complained, but he dutifully followed her up the stairs. Excitement hung off the woman like she was wearing another layer over her dress, and he had to admit to a very small part of himself that her mood was infectious – he was a bit curious as to what _entertainment_ in such an establishment would look like, too. First and foremost though, he had to focus on his current mission: get answers from this Fletcher man and get Aerith back to her annoying SOLDIER friend.

Up the stairs and down a long, ornate hallway stood a large door, one that was obviously for VIP's to the Inn. Aerith swiped her card and Cloud pushed the handle in as the door unlocked, allowing her to enter first. He followed behind and scanned the room, first for enemies and second to admire the plush, comfortable atmosphere that lay before him.

The room was unnecessarily grand and circular, and the walls were adorned with deep purple fabric. A large round bed dominated the space at the other end of the room, its blankets richly red. A window above the bed had dark curtains drawn over it. The main source of light was from two lamps on either side of the bed, which stained the space in a warm color from lampshades that matched the color of the bedspread. On either side of the room were large, plush couches. It was altogether too much and absolutely not Cloud's taste at all. He made a face as Aerith spun around the middle of the room, awestruck by the accommodation.

"I wish we could stay here!" she exclaimed dreamily, pressing her hands together and taking in every detail. "Isn't this room beautiful, Cloud? It's better than I have in the Shinra building even!"

Cloud responded with a noncommittal grunt, turning from where he'd been peering into the bathroom. The bathroom was spacious and came complete with a massive shower, a bathtub large enough to be a swimming pool, and two marble sinks set in a vintage vanity. "We should find this Fletcher guy and get out of here," he countered as he crossed his arms. Aerith stopped twirling and pouted at him for a moment, which just made her look even more adorable with her dressed up look.

 _What the hell?_ Cloud thought to himself with a flinch. _That was an unnecessary addition._ Forcibly ignoring any internal dialogue that would stray down a path he didn't want to consider, he stepped forward. "Can we go?" he urged. "Tifa and your friend are waiting for us."

"Yeah, I suppose," she replied grumpily, but her mood wasn't down for long as she brightened considerably. "We'll get to see the show the clerk mentioned, too! Come on, Cloud!" She practically skipped forward to grab his arm and drag him along to their next destination. Cloud was tempted to pull away and remind her he had two legs and could walk by himself, thank you very much, but for some reason the words died in his throat. Memories of the past few days, of each of their encounters, played behind his eyes. Aerith was used to putting on a show of excitement, one that masked any true feelings she had for things. To see genuine happiness on her face threw him off a little.

That made him pity her tumultuous life. He therefore allowed himself to be dragged forward and out of the room. When the door was shut securely behind them, Aerith handed him the keycard. He tentatively looked at it. "Why are you giving me this?" he asked slowly.

Aerith smiled. "Just in case you're caught in Wall Market for the rest of the night and you need a place to stay," she answered matter-of-factly. "It's the least I can do!"

"Okay…" Cloud uncertainly pocketed the card, hoping he wouldn't have to come back to this place again. He'd had enough of Wall Market for a lifetime.

Down the stairs and through the velvety curtain separating the waiting room from the rest of the inn was a circular atrium – round being a common theme, Cloud noticed – with doors heading every which way. Excited guests were being ushered across from them into a large, dark room by women posing in ridiculous costumes shaped like bees. As they followed the throng of people and Cloud pointedly did his best to ignore the scantily clad workers, his eyes widened in surprise at the grand expanse of room that opened itself up to him. Plush carpet blanketed the space and laid a foundation for half-circle booths, all facing a dimly lit stage. More workers, both women and men this time, muddled about amongst the patrons in those same ridiculous outfits, offering drinks and appetizers on trays. Aerith delightedly picked up a couple champagne glasses offered to her, handing one to Cloud.

"Just like our first meeting," she reminisced with a smile as she took a sip and sighed happily. "This place is amazing."

Cloud, who had been eyeing the bar situated along the back wall, saw a few guests gathered around an animated man who had had a bit much to drink, something he could tell from even here. With a hand wrapped around the glass she'd given him, he pointed his index finger at the scene. "I bet the man we need to talk to is there."

Aerith followed his finger to the scene and her eyes dimmed, lips pursing for a moment. She seemed to be contemplating something. Cloud took a sip of champagne and watched in confusion as she thought; didn't she want to know what happened to her friend? Wasn't that the entire stupid point of being here?

"Okay, come on," she sighed, leading the way into the throng of interested bystanders. Cloud kept close behind, acutely aware of the many pairs of hungry eyes following her movements.

"I tell you, they were _this_ _big_!" the man was exclaiming, throwing his arms out to gesture the length of whatever he was talking about. The drink he clutched in one hand successfully escaped his mug and sloshed down the bar. Behind the counter, the bartender sighed and rolled his eyes as he began to clean up the sopping mess with a rag.

A chorus of groans erupted from the listening crowd, and a few of them scoffed at such a ridiculous story. It gave Aerith the opportunity to sneak forward.

"Excuse me," she interrupted politely with a tap on the man's arm. "Are you Fletcher?"

The man – whom Cloud was pretty sure was indeed the person they were looking for, if Tifa's sources were to be believed – peered through the dim lighting to look at her. His eyes widened and his grin grew more in its lopsidedness. He was definitely drunk.

"You're the – the girl!" he stammered excitedly, voice raising to a new decibel. "On m' magazines! You're…a star! _The_ star!"

Aerith laughed nervously, side-eyeing Cloud. He wordlessly set his now-empty glass on the counter and stepped up beside her as the rest of the group began to disperse. "That's me," she replied half-heartedly. "I heard you could help me find answers about a friend of mine."

But the man wasn't paying attention. He was staring at Cloud now. "You're…I know you," he said slowly, face deep in contemplation as he took in Cloud's hair, his outfit, his face – Cloud wondered if he could even see him properly between the dim lighting and his drunken stupor. But then the man's grin grew tenfold and he snapped his fingers. "Of course – you're Rufus Shinra!"

Cloud blinked once, opening his mouth and closing it again. "I'm not Rufus Shinra," he replied hotly.

"Nonsense, of course you are, you have the – the hair, and the girl," the man insisted with a drunken wink. "Congr'tulations on gettn' married. It is an honor – no, the honor is mine? No…" He huffed and turned back to Aerith, who was trying and failing to conceal her giggles. "I am Fletcher, yessir, that's me! What can I do you for?" He thrust his drink in her direction, spilling a bit in front of her as she squeaked. Cloud grabbed her arm and jerked her back so she wouldn't get alcohol on her dress.

"We were _wondering_ ," he growled, "about a battle you saw a few months back outside of town with the army."

Fletcher stopped and thought for a few moments. Cloud and Aerith glanced at each other as the moments drew on. Finally, his fingers snapped. His words came out in a jumble, "Ah yes, 'course, the battle…of th' SOLDIER and th' army! It's a dooooooozy. Sit down, kids – wait, not kids, y're the one people…"

As he trailed off, his body swayed dangerously. Cloud reached out and pushed him backwards. He fell into the chair behind him, apparently delighted that he'd found a seat. He patted the one next to him and Aerith tentatively walked forward to claim that seat. Cloud remained standing with his arms crossed, gaze darting around to see the activity around him. People were beginning to take their seats, but they probably had a few minutes to get their answers and get the hell out before whatever 'show' that happened here began.

"It all began on m' trip to th' city," Fletcher started dramatically, voice an octave lower and stare holding Aerith's entranced eyes. "I stopped n' picked up two people…refugees…no, SOLDIERs." He nodded firmly to himself, looking less and less confident of his memories. "Back of my truck was empty, 'course, I was getting supplies… But I told 'em, hop on in boys. Well one hopped in. Oth' wasn't lookin too hot. Ah yes, Mr. Shinra, tha's where I know you…you were sleepy."

"What are you talking about?" Cloud demanded. "I'm not –"

"Let's just keep going," Aerith rushed, shooting Cloud a quick apologetic smile. "So you drove two SOLDIERS to Midgar?"

Fletcher nodded, then changed his mind and shook his head. "Didn' make it t' Midgar, them two boys had t' bail. Here comes the _army_. Aft' two _boys._ " His words were beginning to slur so much now that Cloud was having a hard time piecing together what he was saying. Of course, now would be the time for a headache to present itself, as he tried to turn over the story in his head and sift through what didn't make sense. Two SOLDIERS hitched a ride with Fletcher, the army came after them, and they left. He thought he could feel a leering familiar smirk on his back. He whipped his head around, relieved to see no hallucinations had presented themselves.

"What happened next?" he asked out loud, shaking his head a bit and hoping the headache would disperse on its own. The stale smell of alcohol reeked in this place, so maybe that was it – he just needed fresh air.

"Next? About what?" Fletcher frowned at him as if he'd completely forgotten the conversation.

Cloud sighed heavily. "The army chasing the two SOLDIERS."

"Ah yes! Army…SOLDIERS…" he set his beer down onto the counter and stroked his chin. "I hightailed it outta there, yup. B' before I did…" he dropped his voice for dramatic effect. "I watched the SOLDIER ta' on the _entire army._ Yup. Never seen an'thing like it."

"That's it?" Aerith's voice wavered a bit as she watched him, her eyes big and green and sad. "One of the SOLDIERS fought…the entire army?"

Fletcher bobbed his head and grunted. "'M impressed he ma' it as lon' as he did, tha' boy," he said thoughtfully. "Other one – Mr. Shinra – din' see him though. He musta got out."

"For the last time, I am _not_ –"

Aerith sniffled, a small sound that effectively cut Cloud off from his annoying retort. He watched as she struggled to compose herself, wiping her eyes quickly with the back of her hand. "Thank you," she said sincerely at Fletcher, who nodded at her – no, he was nodding off to _sleep._ Cloud pulled Aerith off her stool as the drunk lurched forward unconsciously and fell at their feet. He began to snore loudly.

The lights dimmed then, signaling the beginning of the show, but before the stage lights could pop up and Cloud would actually get stuck watching the bloody thing – his inner curiosity be damned – there was a loud commotion at the door they'd come in. Cloud whipped his head around to see a group of dangerously familiar men loudly barge their way into the room, disrupting the hushed atmosphere of the venue. People began muttering nervously, many standing up and putting as much distance from Corneo's lackeys as they could. Cloud turned his body fully to face the bastards, hand itching to grab his sword as he blocked Aerith from view. He had a score to settle with these assholes.

There was a light tap on his shoulder before he could move, and Cloud flinched and turned to see the bartender standing next to them and pointing the opposite way. " _Go_ ," he urged quietly. "Mr. Rhodea is waiting."

"What?" Cloud asked in confusion. Aerith recovered before he did; she took his hand and they were off again, leaving behind Corneo's lackeys and the startled, anxious atmosphere.


	10. All Good Things Must Come to an End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, my friends! After 8 glorious chapters, I'm finally getting into the "romance" part of this slow burn, albeit still a bit slow. Not to worry, Clerith fans, your time will come soon! As always, I thank my lovely beta and best friend Rand0mSmil3z for keeping this story grounded and keeping me motivated. I hope your 2021 is full of hope, determination, and only good things, my friends!

_Aerith_

On the other side of the back door Aerith had tugged Cloud behind stood a man that she recognized instantly: Andrea Rhodea, owner of the Honeybee Inn and her new acquaintance. The moment he noticed them, he gave them both a curt nod and opened the door a crack, just enough for him to evaluate the situation. Searching around herself, Aerith saw that they were standing in a dim hallway teeming with costumed workers, all looking a bit frazzled at the situation happening on the other side of the door. The very atmosphere in the room was abuzz with rumors, and through bits and pieces she realized that the lackeys had told the crowd that Don Corneo had been incapacitated.

Cloud was the first to react. "Wait – somebody stopped Corneo? He's not in charge anymore?" He asked in a startled voice next to her. "How?"

Aerith smiled sheepishly. "Well… Our new friend took care of him," she whispered back.

Andrea turned back to face them, his expression caught somewhere between a grin and a grimace. "I'll be right back," he said smoothly, gaze flicking over to Cloud's face for a brief moment before meeting her eyes. She nodded back, and then he was gone and the door clicked shut behind him.

Cloud turned to Aerith, brow drawn in confusion. "That's…"

"Andrea Rhodea," Aerith finished. "He owns the place. He also helped me get into Corneo's mansion in the first place. On top of that…" She giggled a little. "I think he's fascinated with you, Cloud."

"With me?" Cloud frowned in the darkness. "What's there to be fascinated about?"

"No idea," she answered with a smile. He looked a bit flustered, but that could have just been the red ambience.

Aerith leaned against the opposite wall, yawning a bit as she folded her hands in front of her. Back here the temperature was pleasantly warm, which she chalked up to the manner of dress the inn workers wore. Still, the constant exposure of her shoulders to the world felt a bit overdone now, and she was looking forward to changing back into more comfortable clothing.

Cloud silently joined her, crossing his arms and bowing his head. She peeked through her hair curiously to glimpse his face. He had just closed his luminescent blue-green eyes. His brows pinched together slightly, creating small lines on his forehead, and his lips were pressed together in a thin line.

"What're you thinking about?" she murmured after quickly scanning the area around them. A few of the workers were giving them confused looks, but nobody was bothering them yet, something she was happy with.

Cloud sighed as she returned to watching his face. "Just have a headache," he answered lowly. He opened his eyes and glanced over to her. She ducked her head back down towards her hands, blushing a little as he caught her staring. "What about you?"

"I just want to get out of here and change into something a bit more comfortable," she admitted with a quick gesture towards her dress. "I have worn enough ridiculous outfits for a lifetime, you know?"

"I think you look nice," Cloud blurted out, which caused Aerith to look back at him again. It was his turn to duck his head and hide a blush. "Uh, I mean…"

Feeling a bit bold again, she reached out a hand and placed it on his arm, just above his glove. His skin was nice and warm. "Thank you, Cloud," she told him with a big smile. Hearing him say those words left a happy buzzing in her chest. Cloud opened his mouth, closed it again, and resorted to just staring at her with confusion and embarrassment.

He was saved from having to reply by Andrea's return through the door. The taller man made sure the door was secure behind him – turning a lock, Aerith noticed nervously – and, after a pause, faced them again.

"Well, it seems you've stirred up some trouble down here," he said matter-of-factly to Aerith. His tone wasn't unkind; in fact, he seemed a bit relieved. "Wall Market is going to be tumultuous for awhile. It's best you two leave out the back door and disappear for a few days."

Aerith nodded. "Thank you for your help," she replied gratefully. "If there's ever anything we can do for you, please let me know."

Andrea's gaze wandered back over to Cloud again, whose arms were still crossed as he silently watched the exchange. The older man stared for a few moments, and Aerith caught a small blush once more creeping its way up Cloud's neck as he looked down. "If you would ever be back in Wall Market, I would be delighted to have you stop by and perform with me," he practically purred, reaching a hand out and lifting Cloud's chin up, much to the other man's surprise. Cloud dropped his arms and took a quick step back.

"What?" he asked apprehensively. " _Me_?"

Andrea smiled and removed his hand from Cloud's personal space. He didn't answer, but rather gestured down the hallway through the performers and towards a door that Aerith could make out in the back. She fought down a giggle that threatened to escape from her mouth. _Oh yes, Andrea Rhodea is indeed fascinated with Cloud_ , she thought smugly to herself. Seeing him uncomfortable was a little…endearing.

Cloud, having noticed the performers as well and had drawn the same conclusion Aerith had, huffed a sigh and began to stalk away without a word. Aerith turned to follow, but not before tossing Andrea one quick final "Thank you!" over her shoulder. People parted as she hurried to catch up with the flustered man doing everything he could to leave the venue.

When they made it out the back door and into a secluded, empty alley next to the building, Aerith let her giggle burst forth from her attempts to conceal it.

"That was _not funny_ ," Cloud insisted hotly as he turned back to her and crossed his arms again. She lifted a hand to her mouth to try and stifle her laughter; after all, they needed to sneak out of Wall Market, and the noises coming from the back of her throat were _ridiculous_ , but she just found the situation so funny.

"I'm sorry," she gasped breathlessly as her laughter finally died down. "Your reaction was just so cute, Cloud!"

Cloud's eyes flew open. "I am not _cute_ ," he hissed heatedly. This led Aerith into another quick fit of giggles, and Cloud rolled his eyes and turned his back to her.

It took another few moments for her to calm herself again, but her mood was significantly lifted for the time being. She watched as he crouched and peered out of the alley towards the front of the inn, his sword glinting in the yellowing light. His defined muscles left small shadows along his arms, and his pale blond hair veiled his face.

"It looks like we're in the clear," he told her as he glanced back, his face in complete shadow. His eyes were glowing in the darkness as he met her gaze. Goosebumps slipped down her arms and creeped down her back, but for once it had nothing to do with the chilly evening and her bare skin. He was almost _ethereal,_ inhuman. She found herself drawing forward to join him, fighting a strange feeling caught between fear and awe. Cloud Strife was something else.

"Do you know the way out of town?" Cloud's voice cut through her haze and Aerith nodded quickly. He maneuvered under the opening in the fence and held out his hand to help her through too. Bending in this dress was _not_ pleasant, and she was grateful for the help as she wheezed and stood back up on the other side.

Aerith took a deep breath in, calming her suddenly nervous heart. Her reaction was ridiculous, at this point her and Cloud were friends, people helping each other to achieve a goal. And her goal…well, she supposed now that her goal had been achieved.

She quietly began moving, leading the way up the stairs and back towards Madam M's parlor where her regular clothes were. Deep in thought, she reminisced on the information she had just learned. Pieces slid into place in the holes of the story as she remembered that horrible, twisted feeling in her gut when Zack's soul had come to bid goodbye. She recalled Tseng's apologetic face as he insisted that he had tried to reach Zack first, but _the army_ beat him. Now this man Fletcher, who had helped Zack and his unknown friend in their journey back to Midgar after five long years, claimed that Zack had tried to take on the entire army himself. He had, of course, failed, but not without putting up a heroic fight.

There were a few pieces to the puzzle that weren't entirely clear to Aerith yet, and those were _why_ Zack was targeted for death and what happened in the five years leading up to his murder – she wasn't going to view his passing as anything less than cold-blooded homicide at this point. The answer to the first was fairly simple in her mind; after all, President Shinra had been so _angry_ when he discovered their romantic interaction. It was all she could do to beg for her guardian to not reprimand Zack in a way she knew he wanted to do. To find out, then, that it was Shinra's _army_ that had been the cause of his death…she was horrifically, sadly not surprised. In fact, Aerith was _bitter. Angry._

Her eyes threatened to well up with tears – but she couldn't cry, not yet. First, she had to finish her mission: she needed to get out of Wall Market, and then she needed to regroup with Kunsel. She also needed to figure out what happened to Zack those five long years, and a clue from drunk Fletcher weighed on her mind as she tried to calm her emotions once more.

"Are you okay?"

The soft, uncertain voice of her companion broke through her thoughts and Aerith started, wiping away the wet tracks of tears that had snuck from her eyes onto her cheeks. Under the dull lights of the back alleys they crept through, his eyes were still glowing beacons of green.

"Of course," she lied, clasping her hands in front of her as she looked forward again to gain her bearings. They would need to sneak out of the alley momentarily and rejoin the main road. She paused for a moment, Cloud slowing to a stop beside her. "I just…can't believe I'm starting to figure out answers. It's a bit to process." She laughed as a sob escaped her mouth. She brought a hand up, clenching her eyes shut and willing herself to not cry.

After a moment, a tentative hand gently landed on her arm, a mirror of the gesture she had done for him earlier. "Was he…your friend?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah…friend…" she trailed off. _Friend_ barely began to scratch the surface of the first real relationship she'd had since losing her mother all those years ago. Zack had been kind, funny, compassionate, and caring. He had put her and her feelings first, and he always made sure to brighten her day with flowers and stories of his missions and friends. He had been her first and only kiss, too. Losing him…well, it was like losing a piece of herself.

Cloud seemed to guess the implications of her statement, and he didn't remove his arm. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I know what it's like…to lose someone." A kind of brokenness in his voice hinted at a much bigger story, but Aerith wasn't sure if he was ready to share just yet, if his somewhat guarded expression hinted at anything.

Instead, she decided to pursue the newest information gifted to her. "So my friend died fighting against the Shinra army," she mused softly, looking up through her lashes at him. "And Fletcher seems to think you, _Rufus Shinra_ –" Cloud immediately rolled his eyes and sighed his annoyance, and she broke off to giggle at the defusing tension – "bore some resemblance to another person who travelled with him. But it sounds like he was injured or something."

"Who knows?" Cloud responded as he ran a hand through his spiky hair. "That guy was pretty drunk to get _me_ confused with a Shinra."

Aerith smiled at him. "You have a heart, you can't be a Shinra," she told him plainly, feeling a slight heat creep up her neck as she looked down again. "You don't have any ulterior motives for your actions." Had she studied his expression as she spoke, she may have caught the slightly pinched look his face took on. Instead, she brought her free hand up to cover his. "Thank you, Cloud," she said genuinely. "It's nice to know I have people who care."

His cheeks stained pink once more, and Aerith removed her arm from his grip before he could drop his hand on his own accord. Saving him from another teasing session, she peeked out of the alley and confirmed it to be clear before gesturing him to follow. The loud, obnoxious noises of the nightly crowd of Wall Market were stifled into a distant roar now, and the growing silence of the world outside the busy town was a welcome change after an entire afternoon and evening spent amongst its excitement. She was feeling a bit weary from all the events of the day, but there was a part of her that didn't want the night to end. As she walked next to Cloud, who kept shooting wordless glances towards her, she wondered to herself if the excitement of knowing somebody outside her guardian's control was getting to her. After all, he was involved with the eco-terrorists and if anybody in all of Gaia was against Shinra, it was Avalanche. The idea of Cloud alone could be interpreted as an alluring escape plan for herself, so maybe that's why she felt so drawn to his presence. She couldn't be sure.

"So…the next step is to figure out who the mysterious sick man was," Aerith thought out loud. "Any ideas on where to start?"

Cloud nodded and crossed his arms. "Hospitals," he answered simply.

"Good point!" Aerith looked up at the massive, looming steel sky above them. Wall Market was still protected from the elements here, but farther west the unfinished, abandoned sector six plate let in copious amounts of silvery moonlight. "There are two on the plates, one in sector eight and one in sector four. Are there any down here?"

"I doubt it." Cloud looked around them and gestured at the crudely made buildings and leftover unwanted materials from the plates' construction. "Not much is clean enough for one in the slums."

Aerith studied Madam M's massage parlor in the distance, easily one of the nicer buildings out of all the slums she'd seen (which wasn't much, considering she had been to exactly two of the undercities now). The screeching sense of finality was fast approaching as they approached their destination, and that was made more sure by the waiting dark figures of their friends beyond the town limits. If she looked hard enough, she could faintly make out a motorbike also partially blending into the dark canvas of strewn rock and industrial debris beyond the town's limits. Aerith felt a pang of regret knowing that their time together would be coming to an end once more.

"So –" Aerith started just as Cloud began with the same word, "So…"

They both cut off and chuckled. Aerith looked down. "You first," she insisted.

"Uh, well – I was just going to say…thank you for coming to help Tifa and me," Cloud said. He shrugged and lifted a hand to the back of his neck in sheepishness. "What about you?"

Aerith blushed and studied her hands, admitting, "I wanted to thank you too. Without your help, I couldn't have gotten this far. And…" she sighed. "I wouldn't have hoped to get out of my current predicament. Thank you so much, Cloud."

It was taking Cloud longer to respond than she was comfortable with for once, and she looked up through a curtain of her hair to meet his eyes. The dim glow from them revealed his conflicted expression. "I…" he started as he swallowed and looked down. "You're welcome."

The way he answered made her curious, but she thought best not to dwell on it. Instead, something that had been on her mind all afternoon and evening now felt relevant enough to voice out loud. "You know," she said thoughtfully as she tilted her head, "maybe it's time."

"Time?"

At the hesitancy and confusion in his voice, she continued softly, "Time to take you up on your offer to help me leave Shinra for good."

Saying those words out loud sent a thrill of fear through her heart. Living in the Shinra building and dutifully obeying her guardian's commands had been her life for almost as long as she could remember. The idea that she was _this close_ to an endless, scary new life seemed both too good to be true and absolutely daunting. Before she could let her frayed nerves change her mind, she studied his expression, searching for his answer.

Cloud wasn't replying. Instead, his eyes had traveled over her head at the way they had come, and then they narrowed. Suddenly he grabbed her hand – Aerith gasped, startled – and pulled her over to the shadows of a nearby building. Aerith, clutching her dress, stumbled in her heels and began to fall. He caught her, pulling her back up and pushing her against the building, his leg pinning her there.

Aerith's eyes were wide with alarm as she began to ask what the _hell_ he thought he was doing, but Cloud – with surprisingly soft eyes – put a hand to her mouth and gestured with his head down the road, blond spikes bobbing with the motion. She followed his wary gaze to the way they had just came from, and when she saw the mob of prowling, angry figures approaching, she held very still.

"Corneo's men," Cloud breathed next to her ear. She nodded stiffly, wishing she could disappear into the building behind her back. Sure, they could probably take on the five men in front of them, but now was not the time, not when they were so close to getting out of Wall Market altogether, and _definitely_ not when she could clearly see the distant forms of Kunsel and Tifa waiting for them up ahead. Besides, were they even Corneo's men anymore? She wasn't sure what had happened with Leslie back in the mansion.

It was then that Aerith noticed in a quick heartbeat that while she was hidden fully, the obvious blond spikes on Cloud's head were still illuminated by the light and he was in danger of being spotted at any moment. She latched onto his arm and pulled him into the shadowed space next to her. He made the smallest noise in his confusion as she did so but allowed himself to be tugged into the safety of the shadows. His eyes glowed nervously in the darkness.

"Close your eyes," she ordered in a hushed whisper.

"What? Wh-"

" _Close them_ ," she repeated sternly. Cloud finally listened, closing his eyelids and cutting off the otherworldly glow. Taking a quick, nervous glance back behind her, Aerith realized the men were practically on top of them and one had started walking in their direction as if he had seen them. Panicking, she whirled her head back around to look at Cloud, making sure he was as unassuming as he could be. He obediently kept his eyes closed, although his brow was still furrowed with confusion. Taking an idea from a play she had once seen, she adjusted her head carefully until she was next to his cheek and held her breath in her anxiety, hoping that they would be passed over as unassuming lovers in the nighttime.

A few terrifying, long seconds later she hazarded a quick glance towards the approaching men, only to see that they were…retreating? Body language along with a few darting eyes back towards the road suggested that they were being forced from the scene by something they did _not_ want to deal with.

Aerith tugged on Cloud's arm, and his eyes flew open at once, warily studying her close face and then retreating men. "What did you do?" he asked in confusion.

She shrugged, replying, "I looked and they were leaving."

Their eyes met and Aerith studied the studious glow that reflected back to her. Their faces were still very close, and she found that she couldn't look away. A growing heat was blossoming in her chest, one that warmed even her skin in the chilled air.

"Why did I need to close my eyes?" Cloud questioned then as he crossed his arms and leaned against the building, effectively breaking the moment.

Aerith blinked. "You mean you don't know?" she asked with a frown. "Your eyes glow in the dark, Cloud."

Cloud looked surprised, but he quickly masked it by turning away from her and shifting the conversation. "Come on, we should meet up with the others," he merely said, and once he was satisfied that it was safe, he left the safety of the building's dark shadows in favor of the dimly lit street.

Aerith tentatively followed, smiling up at him. "So, what do you say?" she asked conversationally. "Do you think it's time?"

Cloud looked like he was about to answer her return to the question at hand, but before he could say anything, a new voice cut through the night as if answering on his behalf.

"It's _time_ to come home now, Aerith."

The familiar voice slithered into Aerith's ear and struck a single, solitary blow to her sinking heart as she realized she'd finally been discovered. It had been naïve of her to think she could get away with being gone from the Shinra building for so long, especially when she'd left Reno alone – _and_ she had exposed her identity to a few important people in Wall Market. She looked up in dread at the source of the voice – the same voice that had scared off Corneo's men, and one that she deeply recognized. Tseng stood in the middle of the road, arms comfortably at his sides as he offered a signature small smirk towards them. As she watched, two other figures melted from the shadows and joined him – Reno and Rude, the former with his mag rod draped across his shoulder and the latter with his arms crossed and eyes unreadable behind sunglasses. The expressions on their collective faces revealed that there was no playing around this time, that they truly meant business. In all senses of the term, they were the Turks and no wouldn't be taken for an answer.

Several heavy moments passed as they watched each other, their fingertips brushing their weapons, neither side wanting to make the first move… and then Cloud side-stepped to stand in front of her, hand reaching over his shoulder to grip the hilt of his signature sword, and effectively cut her off from the Turks' line of sight. Aerith peeked around his shoulders, lips parted in surprise.

The Turks were _not_ impressed.

"Stand down, boy," Tseng said in annoyance as he tilted his head. "Or are you so caught up in your fantasy that you think you can take on the three of us now?"

Cloud did not respond to them, but instead pushed a hand out to keep Aerith where she was. "Stay behind me," he ordered in a deadly serious tone.

"Aw, pretty boy thinks he has a chance," Reno teased with a grin on his face. "Come on Tseng, let's have some fun."

Tseng sighed. "We don't have the time, Reno," he reminded curtly. The excitement in Reno's eyes dulled a bit as he glanced upwards towards some unseen object.

Aerith had finally had enough. "I'm not going back with you," she said with crossed arms and a cross mood. "I'm not some princess who needs coddling, I can handle myself. I'm making my own decisions now, and my decision is to stay with Cloud." As if to emphasize this matter, she stepped up next to Cloud and summoned her staff.

She didn't know if she liked the look on Tseng's face. "Oh, I heard about your _handling yourself_ ," he replied with a knowing look towards Reno.

The younger man pouted. "I wasn't allowed to touch her, boss's orders," he sulked. "I let her get the upper-"

"That is neither here nor there," Tseng interrupted. "Are you really so naïve, Aerith, as to think you'll be safe with the man that you're with? Do you even know who he is?"

Aerith brandished her staff, eyeing the fire materia that gently pulsed within its slot in her staff, _begging_ to be used. She could feel Cloud's eyes on her, but she didn't meet his gaze, opting instead to finally take a stand against the person who had kept an eye on her since she was little. "He's Avalanche," she replied with a surge of determination expressing itself in her raised voice. "And he's going to help me leave the Shinras behind. He's _helping_ me."

The leader of the Turks shook his head, smirk growing more pronounced. "First of all, yes, he is Avalanche. He is part of the same cell that tried to kidnap you a few months ago. The same cell that _we_ –" he gestured at the three of them, "protected you from."

"I…" Aerith looked uncertainly at Cloud, who broke his concentration on the Turks to meet her eyes for a moment. "Is that true, Cloud?"

The expression on Cloud's face said enough. "Well... The others wanted to…" The words were coming out slowly, and he sounded so unsure of himself. It made Aerith nervous. "They wanted to use you for leverage. Against the president. They wanted him to power off the reactors."

Her sneaking suspicions voiced aloud, Aerith took the smallest of steps away and clutched her staff in both hands. "And…and what about you?" she asked in a small voice, feeling fear towards him for the first time since their meeting on the balcony, back before the first reactor had exploded.

"I wanted to help you," Cloud said firmly, a new fire blazing in his eyes.

"That's not all though, is it?" Tseng interjected smoothly, small smirk never leaving his face. "You infiltrated the party to kidnap her? We found evidence of drugs amongst the remains of a champagne flute on the balcony where you were discovered by Reno."

The blood in Aerith's veins ran cold as this new information washed over her. She remembered their first encounter, of course: he'd reached out for the champagne glass at the same time as her and knocked it over. She had bandaged his wound…

Looking from Tseng to Cloud, Aerith tried to find words to speak. "He's helping me," she reiterated in a hoarse voice. "He's helping me find out what happened to Zack that ended up with him dead against the entire army."

Tseng took a few steps forward, edging closer to her with the other Turks circling around. They were quickly being surrounded, and she looked urgently towards Cloud – only to see him falter, squinting his eyes shut tight and pressing a palm against his forehead. The tip of his – of _Zack's_ – sword hit the ground.

"Why don't you ask your new acquaintance," Tseng suggested lightly from in front of her, as he held up three fingers before pointing them Cloud's way. Was he counting? "If anybody were to know Zack Fair's story, it would be him."

Aerith whirled to face him again when she heard Cloud's sword clatter to the ground. Cloud himself fell to his knees in some kind of invisible pain. He grunted from the strain, his eyes flying open to meet hers. That green mako glow pulsing through them looked sickly and angry as he stared unseeingly at her. Caught momentarily unawares, Aerith felt a hand wrap around her arm and tug her away from him.

Her thoughts were loud and pitted against each other, half of her insisting that he had never hurt her, not once since they'd met, while the other shot accusations of withheld knowledge and betrayal. Her breaths came in fast and shallow as her mind forced her to see the too-obvious parallels. Fletcher had _said_ Cloud was with Zack when he died, after all – sure, he had gotten the name wrong, but in his drunken state, could he have really made up something so ludicrous?

"Don't you see, Aerith?" Tseng said calmly next to her. "He's been the problem all along."

Locked in a stare with a pained Cloud, Aerith could have sworn for the slightest moment that a purple hue flashed beneath the waves of green that simultaneously said everything and nothing. There was pleading, confusion, anger, pain, and many more emotions that flitted through his normally guarded expression.

Then his eyes fluttered closed and he fell onto the ground, unconscious.

It was as if everything else that had just been discussed melted away. Forgetting the utter confusion and fear that panged inside her for a moment, Aerith wrenched her arm away from Tseng's grip and quickly knelt next to Cloud. "Cloud? Are you okay?" she asked urgently, feeling for a pulse on his cold, clammy neck. There was one, and he blearily opened his eyes again to look up at her. "What happened, Cloud?"

Tseng's fingers wrapped around her arm and tugged her away again. This time, she rounded on him. "What did you do to him?" she demanded angrily, brandishing her staff. Tseng removed his arm and put his hands up slowly, looking much too at ease for the position he was in.

" _I_ did nothing," Tseng replied coolly. "I didn't even know he had survived."

Aerith stared at him with new eyes as she digested his choice of words. It took far too long for her to piece together that Tseng knew about Zack and the army, which meant he knew about _Cloud_. She realized with a sickening lurch that Tseng had known _everything all along_. He had always had the answers she was looking for. _Cloud_ wasn't working against her…Tseng was.

"You knew what happened to Zack all along, didn't you?" she demanded angrily. The staff throbbed against her palm like a second heartbeat. "You knew what happened to him and Cloud?"

Tseng didn't smile, but he didn't deny her line of questioning either. "Some things are better left in the past," he said simply.

"Weird." Reno, who had crept around them and was now standing behind Cloud, gave the ex-SOLDIER a curious kick. Cloud grunted and curled in on himself, his fingers outstretching for the just-out-of-reach sword. The Turk smirked and leapt over him to join the rest. "No biggie, let's get the princess to her punishment."

"…Punishment?" Aerith demanded, looking frantically back at Tseng.

Hard eyes met hers. "The president knows everything you've done, Aerith," Tseng said. " _Everything._ "

Her heart began racing and her hands went slack on her staff. Eyes darting over to the now-hidden figures in the distance, she wondered if Kunsel could hear with his SOLDIER hearing what exactly was happening. Would he step in? No, he couldn't, not without endangering himself or Tifa. She looked back down towards Cloud, whose eyes were squeezed shut as he fought off some unknown demon. Finally, she focused again on the Turks just as Reno gleefully plucked her weapon from her hands.

It was over.

Tears began to betray her thoughts, and she angrily fought them down. She was aware that she could try and bottle her outward feelings as she had always done, but it was if a dam had burst. She was no longer able to contain the emotions that had been hidden, the feelings that had been trembling inside her for so long, and something within her snapped. She had reached the point of no return now, she knew. If President Shinra knew all about her exploits… She would lose everything, even the minuscule happiness that she'd found in friends and in her fake life with Shinra. She felt anger, she felt anguish, and she felt _terror._ The creepy, slimy grin of Professor Hojo forced its way to the forefront of her mind, arms out as if beckoning her back to his labs for eternity. Goosebumps rose on her bare arms.

"Come," Tseng muttered as he, for the third time, clamped a vice grip onto her bare arm. "The helicopter is waiting. And so is your guardian. We have other places we need to be presently."

Now weaponless, Aerith tried one final time to pull away and return to Cloud, feeling that if she were to leave him now, it would probably be the last time she'd ever see him. She couldn't break free, and this terrified her. She really was _stuck._ No amount of promises to get away or dreams of leaving Shinra would save her from her fate now.

"You live in sector seven, right? I would recommend avoiding your home tonight," Tseng told the half-conscious Cloud on the ground, who was still fighting to get back up against some unseen foe. Sweat beaded on his brow as he met her eyes again. _What's happening to him? Is he sick?_

"Things in that part of the city may get…unpleasant," Tseng finished in a voice slightly raised more than his usual levels. With that, he steered Aerith away from the man who had promised her freedom and towards the rest of her miserable life.

* * *

_Cloud_

_AngerpainpainangerFOCUS. Squealing and moaning and thrashing as puzzle pieces tore apart and landed in a heap of disjointed memory at Cloud's feet. Somewhere, there was screaming. Nothing made sense and everything was a lie. Who was the SOLDIER? Why was everything green? What sounds did gurgling, drowning victims make in constricting cylindrical prisons?_

_Through sheer willpower alone, his eyes forced themselves open. That calming emerald green sparkled back and tried to pull him back to the surface, but something ugly and angry and liquid fear was snaking along his leg and yanking his shuddered breaths back under the surface, submerging him in misery and determination and madness and –_

_\- And everything changed, solidified, morphed into a beautiful space encircled by ghostly white, spindly trees. Below him lay the most reflective, still pool of water he'd ever seen. A bright, full moon above shone silvery light through flittering branches, remaining unbroken on the glass of the water's surface. In his arms, an all-too-familiar person with skin that was much too cold, closed eyes shuttering him from the emerald that saved him. She was wearing a soft pink dress, black boots, and a red jacket, which matched the blossoming dark red that was drying and caking on her chest. He should have been shocked, but he wasn't. Stony silence was broken only by his first few hesitant steps into the pond. Blossoms of watery ripples echoed as he took each painstaking step. This was a goodbye he never wanted to see._

_And then…_

_Darkness. Silence._

_Cloud felt warm and feverish. He could feel individual droplets of sweat on his brow as they slowly marched their way down his tilted forehead and towards their earthly destination below, joined by a few betraying tears that sought refuge from his tightly-shut eyes. The gravel beneath him was sharp and jagged and loud – every shift he tried to make reverberated clicking sounds of shifting rock through his mind and flared up his headaches again. He winced, shrinking back as if he could avoid the lick of anger that reared its head, demanding he put the puzzle together again. Names and faces and memories flashed one by one across his shuttered eyelids, and his mind began discarding those he couldn't identify and naming those he could._

_There was a fuzzy memory of a sky threatening to storm, of a hand reaching out weakly towards a retreating figure. Green surrounded the view and eyes slid shut against overwhelming determination to stay awake and alert. No name sought purchase in his head here. The memory was shoved aside._

_There was the princess in her bright red dress, her big green eyes filled with tears of laughter as she giggled at him. Her smile warmed his heart and broke his feverish state. She was alive. She was okay._

_Aerith._

_Then there was a familiar kitchen with suds in the sink, bottles hanging on the walls, a melody from an old radio bouncing against them. There was a woman standing there; she had a gentle smile, and watched him with wine-colored eyes and arms crossed over her chest._

_Tifa._

_"Cloud?" Her head tilted slightly, eyebrows narrowing in concern. "Everything okay?"_

_Then the image changed, and then Aerith was sitting across from him in the same coffee shop they had met at a lifetime ago. Her hands cupped a half-full mug of mocha, and her expression was both contemplative and confused as she watched him. "Not even when in SOLDIER?" she asked._

_Recent memories flashed in his mind, some normal, some he'd forgotten about already – sparkling familiar green, Tifa's concern, a hard bed, Seventh Heaven, sneaking into Rufus Shinra's party, green again, shattered glass, disgusting coffee, falling, pain, the tournament, rescue, the sound of Aerith's sniffling. Warm, floral-scented memories of a face too close to his brought him back._

_"Cloud?" Tifa called again. "Are you okay?"_

"…to me, Cloud!"

 _Oh, that isn't a dream_ , Cloud told himself. He opened his eyes slowly, if only to let the world stop spinning for a moment, and focused on what was right in front of him: a nondescript brown-haired SOLDIER with shock in his mako eyes. He was kneeling, which meant Cloud was indeed on the ground. He groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Be careful, Cloud," Tifa warned from somewhere behind him, and while he would prefer to turn toward her familiar face, something about the SOLDIER in front of him wouldn't let him tear his eyes away.

The SOLDIER, shock finally registering, opened his mouth. "You're… _Cloud_?"

"What's it to you," Cloud sighed as he flexed his arms in front of him. He spotted the buster sword laying on the ground near him, and he reached forward to grab it.

"I…" The SOLDIER trailed off, at a temporary loss for words. "You're Cloud Strife, right?"

The fact that this SOLDIER knew his full name had Cloud instantly on edge, even while gripping the familiar hilt of his sword. "Why?" he asked warily.

Shock morphed into excitement, resolution, and finally confusion as the SOLDIER held his arm out for Cloud to grab. Taking the extended hand, he returned to his feet, looking back at a very concerned Tifa who had her arms out as if to catch him. Of course she'd seen him like this before, something that he very much was getting tired of. He didn't need a babysitter, even if it was a friend as kind as Tifa. "I'm fine," he reassured her.

"You don't look fine," she said, biting her lower lip. Her eyes flashed from his face to the SOLDIER behind him, which reminded Cloud to be wary.

"We never got the chance to meet in person, but we have a mutual friend," the other held his hand out. "I'm Kunsel. I've heard a lot about you from Zack."

There was that name again, and along with it, came a flurry of activity in the back of his brain. Cloud saw green for a moment and squeezed his eyes shut, as if the action could force the headache back down. A slow lick of purple trickled down the sides of his vision.

"He's been having some memory issues," Tifa filled in behind him. "He usually gets like this when he tries to remember too much."

Cloud gritted his teeth. "It's the mako," he supplied lowly, although that reason was beginning to feel more like an excuse instead of the truth. What _was_ wrong with him?

"Yeah, that reminds me – how did you get mako enhancements, anyway?" Kunsel's voice echoed down a long tunnel towards him, and that sentence sent him almost careening over again in pain. A soothing gloved hand kept him steady.

"Maybe another time," Tifa said gently. "We have more important matters right now."

Her careful voice stirred the most recent memories back to the forefront of his mind, and in an instant Cloud whirled around to see if he could see a sign of Aerith or her captors. "Which way did they go?" he demanded instantly. "We have to go after them!"

As if answering from afar, the gentle sound of whirring helicopter blades in the distance led their collective eyes to watch as the answer to Cloud's question lifted towards the plate. The helicopter was much too far away for him to make out figures inside, but something inside of him screamed that Aerith was inside and being taken further away with each moment to what he could only imagine wouldn't be a happy life. He clenched his fist and settled his sword on his back. "Let's go," he ordered, but before he could take a step, an unfamiliar hand curled around his bicep. Cloud leapt back from Kunsel's grasp, hand on his sword once again.

Kunsel put his hands up in a sign of peace. "I think you may have more to worry about than just Aerith right now," he explained as his gaze darted back to the helicopter. "I think Tseng was trying to give you a warning."

"A warning?" Tifa echoed, her voice pitching slightly in worry, "What do you mean?"

The other SOLDIER swallowed. " _I would recommend avoiding your home tonight. Things in that section of the city may get…unpleasant._ That's what Tseng said. There was something in his voice…" He trailed off. "It was a warning, I'm sure of it. Is your home in sector seven? He mentioned something about there."

Cloud realized the question was being directed towards him, and slowly he released the grip on the hilt of his sword and dropped his hand, looking to Tifa as he did so. "…Yes," he finally answered, inwardly wondering if that's what the slums had become to him after the past few months. The only home he'd ever truly known was Nibelheim, and…well, that wasn't an option anymore, he knew. Not since five years prior. The back of his head twinged painfully and he thought he felt familiar amused eyes watching him. He ignored it yet again – he was _not_ dealing with hallucinations on top of whatever was going on in the present world.

"We should go back and make sure everybody is okay," Tifa suggested with a nervous glance in the direction of their home. Cloud was caught between two wants – he watched as the helicopter disappeared from view as it snaked its way back above the plate. When it disappeared from view, he felt an odd twinge in his chest at the same time. He had been aware enough to know that Aerith was in actual danger now. Words from a previous conversation echoed in his head:

_"President Shinra brought me in as his ward, and it's by his decision I don't have to deal with more than simple, non-invasive tests by Hojo. I have him to thank for that, really."_

_Professor Hojo._

The name sent shudders down Cloud's spine, although he couldn't pinpoint an exact reason why. He'd heard the rumors about the man, of course – he made SOLDIERS and he liked to experiment, with little regard for ethics. The idea of somebody as kind as Aerith being put in his grasp… it made him angry. "What about Aerith?" he asked hotly as he rounded back on Kunsel. "Aren't you supposed to be her friend or something?"

Kunsel's gaze drifted to where the helicopter had disappeared too. "I know, I know," he said in frustration. "I'm not going to lie, this looks bad on both angles. For one, I can almost guarantee the Turks knew I was here. For another, you're not exactly unrecognizable now." He gestured to Cloud's hair. "You stand out like a sore chocobo, Cloud."

Cloud's annoyed response died on his lips as their conversation was interrupted by the opening of a door. A narrow strip of light shone at Cloud's feet, and he followed it to an open door and the peculiar woman who stood there, one hand on a hip and the other daintily waving a fan in their direction.

"Well, if it isn't 'The Merc,'" she called.

Cloud eyed her uncertainly. "What's it to you?" he asked, echoing a similar statement he'd made towards Kunsel not five minutes prior.

"I have no desire to get involved in personal business. I find that boring," the woman said with a roll of her eyes. "But I have some items here for your friend, and seeing as she is now indisposed, perhaps you could remove them from my hands."

She held out something that had been hidden in her posed hand, and Cloud stared at it, taking a few curious steps forward. It was a cap – the same cap Aerith had when she'd tried to help him escape the first time that day.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked anxiously. "Is everything all right?"

The woman handed the hat to Cloud, who showed it to her. "It's Aerith's," he replied, just as recognition flashed across both their faces. Kunsel took a few steps forward to join them, hand reaching out uncertainly. Cloud's fingers curled possessively around the hat. Kunsel's hand dropped and he tilted his head, thinking for a moment.

"Cloud, I…" he trailed off, deep in thought. "I think you should go get Aerith, and then I can go to sector seven. I'm concerned about what Tseng had said… and I can make sure Tifa gets back safely, too."

Cloud's eyes darted over to Tifa. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't know much about the Shinra building."

This seemed to give the other man an idea, and he quickly pulled out his PHS – the damn device and its owner being the source of another kind of headache for Cloud the past week – and fiddled with it for a few seconds. Cloud felt the PHS in his pocket buzz a moment later. "There," Kunsel finished. "I gave you some basic instructions. I have a feeling I know where Aerith will be now."

"With Hojo." Cloud nodded with hard eyes.

Kunsel's gaze flicked to him and he nodded once in agreement, then fished around in his pocket for a moment before tossing him something. Cloud caught a set of keys. "And here," said he continued. "Take my bike. I'll stay down here tonight and take the first train up in the morning."

Cloud remembered something then and pulled out the keycard to the ridiculous room at the Honeybee Inn. He handed it over. "This is for a room at the Honeybee Inn," he said. "It's under Aerith's name, I think."

As Kunsel accepted the card, there was an annoyed sigh from behind them. Cloud turned back to face the woman who had Aerith's clothes. "If you're quite done, I would like to get on with my life," she pressed. Cloud nodded and turned, paused, and looked back at Tifa.

"Go," Tifa said softly, kind eyes barely concealing concern. "I'll keep in touch."

Cloud followed the woman back into the building while feeling all-too-familiar hallucinatory eyes smirking at his back. He hoped beyond hope that he'd made the right decision and that he could make good on his word to Aerith now. He had a loyalty to prove, and a new mission to fulfill.

The angry presence in the back of his mind twisted in temporary satisfaction.


	11. Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my friends. This week has been a trying one for those of us in the USA, and I wanted to say that we WILL make it through this. As my favorite musician once said, "This too shall pass." TW in this chapter for thoughts of suicide, but because I'm the author of this story these characters WILL make it through and live to find happier times. As the author of your own story, you too will find happiness if you're still searching. I promise. Thank you to my incredible beta, Rand0mSmil3z, because she really helped polish this monster of a chapter into a diamond.

_Aerith_

The first sign that Aerith should have been suspicious was when the helicopter didn't land.

Hovering above the helipad outside President Shinra's office, the same helipad where she had often returned from trips with her guardian, she stared down to the darkly tinted windows of the all-too-familiar office. They were even more ominous in the late evening than usual, and Rude - rather than setting the helicopter down as he would normally - continued to hover above the ground while Tseng pulled open the door and gestured towards her."

"This is your stop," Tseng said into his microphone. His lips moved a half-beat ahead of low rumble that hissed out of the headphones in Aerith's ears, and she could only swallow nervously in reply. Her nerves were already frayed from the realization that things were about to change, not to mention that she wasn't exactly trusting of Tseng's intentions for once in their…friendship? She wasn't sure what to call it, but their relationship wasn't nearly as positive as she had once thought, and now she wasn't sure what to think.

So instead of thinking about all of that, she frowned at him and shot back, "Aren't you going to land and march me in like the good Turk you are?"

"Can't," he deadpanned in reply. "We have somewhere else we need to be. You, on the other hand…"

Not wanting to tip Tseng of her curiosity, Aerith simply turned away and, after moving towards the open door, ripped off her headphones and placed them onto the seat she vacated. It was only a few feet drop to the ground below, and yet she found herself debating the chance that she would wipe out in the ridiculous dress and heels that she was _still wearing_. The worst part was that she'd been so close to returning to her own clothes; they'd been ambushed right outside Madam M's. Now, she was marching into a hostile situation with her guardian while dressed in an outfit that left little to the imagination and offered no comfort or warmth. _How typical_ , she thought cryptically.

Taking her chances, Aerith bent her knees and hopped off the helicopter. She landed as well as she could and was happy that throwing her arms out helped her balance the landing, so that she didn't fall down. As she glared back up to the rapidly retreating Turks, the curiosity she hadn't wanted to show before got the better of her for a moment. They were steering the helicopter back under the plate…but what for? Aerith thought to her PHS, which was still sitting on the front console of the helicopter exactly where Reno had placed it earlier after he had _stolen_ it from her. That meant that she was without any form of communication and no way to call for help, not to mention that she had left Cloud in an incapacitated state in _Wall Market_ of all places _._ Now she could only hope that Kunsel and Tifa were there to help him gather his bearings from whatever caused him harm.

She hugged her arms around herself as a particularly gusty, cold December breeze rustled the ruffles on her dress and raised goosebumps on her bare skin. She shivered. Gone was the strange warmth she'd felt when she'd been so close to Cloud, when she had spent time with him.

She was on her own now.

She turned towards the same tinted windows she had been watching from the helicopter, and she debated the chances of her being able to sneak down the media's side entrance, down the dozens of floors, out the main doors and then away from the Shinra building. Those chances were pretty slim to begin with, but without Kunsel to help her... Sighing, she squared her shoulders and, after giving herself a quick hug to try and comfort the anxiety bubbling in her chest, forced herself to move towards her unwilling destination.

Shaky steps accompanied shaky breaths, but eventually Aerith found herself standing in front of an already open and waiting door. Strangely enough, there wasn't a guard waiting for her outside it, and she was left her to collect herself in the doorway for as long as she needed.

_Will I ever be ready?_ she wondered as she stood at the doorframe, and the answer came immediately: _No, probably not._ She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes drifted back towards the railing behind her. It would be _so easy_ to walk over there and just… jump. Heat pricked at the corners of her eyes in watery anger. The fall would be quick, and the impact would come so fast that it would be painless – _maybe._ Not to mention that her death by suicide would be horrible press for Shinra, which came her some measure of sick satisfaction… and yet her feet would not move towards the railing, and her stomach twisted as she looked towards the horizon.

_I can't do it,_ she realized, tearing her gaze away from the edge of the helipad. A single tear cut a hot trail down her cheek, and she closed her eyes. _I can't._

And that left only one thing to do. Aerith lowered her arms from her middle and fought against the desire to clench her hands into fists, to rage, to scream, and – as she impatiently wiped away her tear – to cry. She needed to appear docile and obedient, maybe even a little regretful of her actions. She could do that easily enough; she'd been doing it the majority of her life. It wasn't until the past few days when she'd finally been able to express real emotions without the guilt that she'd usually associated with doing so. Something about her resolve to get to the bottom of Zack's story had changed her, and she liked to think it was for the better.

_But is it?_ She worried her lip, brows creased with indecision, before she schooled her expression, took a deep breath, and marched through the door into the den of wolves known as Shinra.

What greeted Aerith surprised her – a long, black table, as mirrored as the floor beneath it, dominated the space that was usually President Shinra's luxurious, minimalist office. On one end were two chairs opposite each other; one was empty while the other was currently being occupied by the younger Shinra. Rufus had a full plate but wasn't eating; his eyes met hers and his expression was as unreadable as ever. On the other end of the unnecessarily long table sat President Shinra, who was sitting straight, back pressed against the equally straight chair with a dark expression on his face. The temperature in the room, while probably pleasant, felt ten times colder than the outdoors she'd just left.

"I don't like to be kept waiting," Shinra snapped without rising from his seat. "Sit."

The lone chair opposite Rufus was in front of a silver charger and black plate. Pristine silver cutlery waited untouched for her to sit and use them. Platters of mouthwatering food that normally would have left her stomach gurgling – steak medallions with blackberry sage sauce, wine and cheese kale colcannons, and white-truffle risotto – did nothing but make her nauseous.

She sat down anyway. The chair was cold, and across from her Rufus continued to watch her with an unreadable expression.

"Eat," her guardian commanded. Aerith quietly loaded up her plate with small spoonfuls of each of the dishes placed in front of her and kept her mouth shut and her eyes focused on the task at hand. When she'd exhausted all options before her, she slowly picked up her fork and tasted the first bite – the venison with blackberry sauce. As expected of Shinra, it tasted divine; it was tender, moist, and the blackberry sauce cut through the gamey meat in bursts of fresh tang.

But mostly, it just tasted like blood.

She continued to eat.

"It's a nice evening outside," Shinra mused then, anger momentarily slipping below the surface of his emotional output. "We shall enjoy the view from the balcony after dinner."

Rufus sighed from across the table and picked up his fork. Aerith shot the tiniest of glances his way and was thankful to see he was no longer staring. She picked up her glass of water and took a sip, letting the cool, refreshing liquid soothe her as best as it could. It was a far cry from feeling normal, but it would have to do for now. Her heart continued to hammer in her chest, and she felt exposed in more ways than just physically.

A few minutes of blissful silence graced her ears, exceptions being the clinking of cutlery against plates and chewing. Aerith felt like she was in a constant state of dreaded anticipation, the very thought of the next words out of her guardian's mouth sending her insides into a frantic frenzy of fear. Outwardly however, she was maintaining a composed, polite, innocent appearance. The battle between her inner fears and outer indifference was giving her a bit of a headache.

"So."

President Shinra's voice permeated the room, echoing around and landing on her plate. Aerith was impressed such a small word could have such strong connotations. He was beyond angry.

"I hear you've taken to undermining my authority and protection," Shinra continued.

Aerith obediently dropped her gaze and tried to force another small bite of food into her mouth, if only so that she had an excuse not to speak for a moment. Besides, he wasn't looking for an answer from her, not really. He already knew everything he needed to know.

At least, that's what she assumed.

At the lack of response, her guardian slammed his fist on the table and she flinched, her cutlery jumping despite the distance between them. Her heart rate skidded in her chest as she slowly set her fork back down on the table. Her lipstick stained its prongs a bloody red.

"You've been meeting with Wutai spies, sneaking out, and you've been _threatening_ Turks. Who the hell gave you a weapon?" he demanded, barely concealed fury nearly cracking his low, even tone.

Aerith hands trembled in her lap as she wondered how to respond, but then Rufus sighed again and set his fork down. "That was me, father," he responded, and it took all of Aerith's willpower to not stare at him in shock. "I too have noticed her interesting new choice in acquaintances, and had wanted her to be able to protect herself. I had thought –"

"You _thought_?" Shinra cut him off, voice raised. "You thought wrong, _boy_. She doesn't need a _weapon_ , she needs to _listen to her orders._ You have no say over her wellbeing and don't have the _slightest_ idea of what is best for her."

"Isn't that the entire point of our match?" Rufus's response was biting but unchallenging, only sounding amused and polite as he always did around his father. "I thought you wanted me to help look out for her with our being engaged."

Shinra waved his hand dismissively, in the same breath correcting him. "It's all for show," he stated matter-of-factly. "This company needs to maintain a positive face, and your match made the most sense. But as you're not married yet, I still have the primary say on her life."

Rufus didn't press the issue further and Aerith continued to stare at her plate, fighting away the tears that threatened to fall once more. In the back of her mind she envisioned a bird in a cage, unable to spread its wings or fly or even cry out as it was watched and argued over again and again.

She didn't want to be that bird.

Her guardian continued his mantra as he pulled a fresh cigar from his inner suit jacket pocket. Upon finding it, he clipped the end, stuffed it in the corner of his mouth, and fished around for a lighter. "As you seem to have forgotten, _Aerith_ , your place is as _my_ ward, under _my_ care, and _we_ need to discuss your punishment. But first of all," he added, abruptly changing the subject, "Rufus: have the Turks apprehended the suspect?"

"Not yet," Rufus replied slowly. Aerith looked up at him again, and it almost looked like he was avoiding her gaze when he glanced down at his PHS. "They are currently indisposed on your orders."

Shinra hummed thoughtfully. "As they should be. Now tell them that finding the leftover Avalanche _sewer rats -"_ he spit out the word, "- is the Turks' highest priority once they complete their… other task." The ice in his glass of scotch clinked together, the only sound in the room for a moment, until he continued, "I will _not_ allow Avalanche to roam about my city freely, polluting the citizens with their irrational notions of _saving the planet._ "

_Leftover?_ Aerith thought to herself in a small voice. _What does that mean? And what did Shinra mean by 'other task'?_

"Very well." Rufus typed into his PHS before setting it down on the table next to his food.

Having finally come up with the lighter he'd been looking for, President Shinra lit his cigar and puffed smoke into the air. Aerith could smell the heady, acidic scent of nicotine even on her side of the table, but through the smoke she could make out the staircase that she knew led down to the elevators _Maybe I can make a break for it,_ she thought for one brief, wild moment, but she tossed that notion aside almost immediately. There were guards undoubtedly posted outside, not to mention that running in her heels was virtually impossible.

Shinra's exasperated tone drew her back into the conversation. "Aerith, Aerith, Aerith…" His very tone suggested that her mere presence was a nuisance. "Now, what are we going to do about you?"

Aerith was still at a loss for words, and underneath the table her fingernails dug into her palms with so much force that she wondered if she had broken skin. She could feel the rigidity in her shoulders that were a dead giveaway for her obvious discomfort. She couldn't say anything, not now. Anything she would say would be turned back onto her; there was no winning here.

A sudden chime from the other side of the table cracked the tense moment, and Aerith hazarded a glance to see her so-called guardian check his PHS. His lips curved in a sharp, humorless grin, and a new fire brimmed in those steely gray eyes as they skipped across the mess. Then he lifted his gaze and their eyes locked, and Aerith knew beyond a doubt:

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

Aerith couldn't tell what it was exactly, but without his saying another word she already knew he was already enacting her punishment, and there was _nothing_ she could do about it but sit in the hard-backed chair, a decadent yet inedible meal spread out before her, completely at his mercy. Her mind raced in a tangle of thoughts and anxieties, each more shrill than the last. Was Hojo already on his way up to collect her? Or maybe it was something even worse, something deserving of Shinra's sheer _hatred_ of her? She couldn't picture much worse than Hojo, and the chills that trembled down her spine had everything to do with the penetrating look that she thought she could feel on her.

"Shall we retire to the balcony? The weather this time of year is quite…delightful," Shinra suggested. Well, it wasn't a _suggestion;_ Aerith knew this, so she completely ignored Rufus' waiting, outstretched hand as she robotically stood. There was no use playing naïve now, she could tell. She was already screwed. Instead, she followed her guardian back outside, where he stood looking down on his vast mako empire.

The weather this time of year really wasn't delightful. It was chilly outside again, of course. Rufus tried to offer Aerith his jacket, not as a sign of politeness but merely because her teeth began chattering, but Aerith refused. She wondered inwardly if she'd die of cold before her punishment came to get her, and maybe that would be a mercy compared to what would come. She'd brave out the icy breeze.

President Shinra's arms swept upwards to highlight his kingdom. "Look at this glorious city I've built," he announced in a voice that sounded reminiscent of his speeches to the media. His sole audience, Rufus and Aerith, weren't as easily impressed. "Especially the beautiful sector seven. See how it sparkles tonight, how quiet it looks as everybody has retired for the evening. It really is too bad that this city has become plagued with vermin."

"Vermin, father?" Rufus asked, as if on cue.

Shinra's smile broadened. "Yes, of course. To think that Wutai and Avalanche have infiltrated our beautiful city and tried to sway my own ward, tried to tear us apart with their schemes of blowing up reactors. All those casualties on their hands… That _vermin_ has no place in my city."

Aerith had a bad feeling that was growing larger by the second. Against her better judgment, she stepped forward and leaned over the railing to observe the silent sector seven below. Its reactor was happily pumping away, and its luminescent green fumes – the color matching Cloud's glowing eyes from only an hour earlier – hazed the sky around them. Even the few stars above them were tinged with the sickly color, and if she leaned even farther beyond the safety of the railing, she could almost peek between the cracks of the plate and see the sector seven slums below – Cloud and Tifa's home, she knew, as the latter had referred to it a few times in the past day. Down there the rest of the city slept, not caring at all about the color of the sky or whether mako really was the lifeblood of the planet. Aerith knew the truth, but not enough to speak out. She kept her lips pursed together as she looked below.

_Maybe Cloud is already back home,_ she wondered, and her chest tightened as she recalled his earlier pain. _Please be safe,_ she begged to the polluted sky.

Shinra's sharp exhale clouded the air. "I have received word that Avalanche is preparing another attack as we speak," he dropped into the silent air.

It was as if a bomb had already gone off. "What are you talking about, father?" Rufus asked sharply at the same time as Aerith whipped her head around to gawk at her guardian. The president's expression was especially prideful at his successful delivery of surprising news as he glared down at her with wide, feral eyes.

"It seems," he said slowly, enunciating every word towards her while he answered Rufus's question, "as if _Avalanche_ is currently trying to separate the sector seven plate support. If this occurs, the plate will fall…and every soul above and below will perish."

Aerith's hand flew to her mouth before she could stop herself, and the knuckles on her other turned white as her grip tightened on the railing. Its cold bit into her palm as she realized: _This_ was the punishment he had promised. Did he know that Cloud lived in the sector seven slums? Did he know that he was the reason she'd snuck out? Desperate, she looked back down towards the sleeping sector, wishing her voice could carry into the night the scream she needed to let free to warn not just him but everybody else. There had to be _thousands_ of people down below who didn't know what was about to happen!

"Father, what are you doing?" Rufus snapped behind her. "The people in sector seven work for you. Why would you do this?"

"You mean, why would _Avalanche_ do this, why would _Wutai_ do this," Shinra reminded him with a grin and tone suggesting he knew otherwise. "Our poor Turks are doing everything they can from stopping the ecoterrorists in their latest plot, but alas…" A hand gestured out of Aerith's peripheral vision, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene below. The plate looked fine; she didn't see anything wrong with it. _Were they attacking beneath it?_ She scoured every inch she could see, hoping beyond hope that Cloud and Kunsel and Tifa hadn't gone back to her new friends' home and were in any other sector…or that if they were there, they were fighting. As long as the only friends she had in all of Gaia were safe, that's all that mattered. She didn't care about anything else. Aerith felt a hand on her back and she ignored it, her every fiber of being screaming out to try and will her friends to win any fight that may be happening.

Shinra cleared his throat as if wanting the attention back on him again. "I suspect the separation should happen anytime now," he said gleefully, and she heard footsteps pacing back and forth in excitement behind her. The hand didn't leave her back, which meant it was Rufus, but she sidestepped the touch and finally rounded on Shinra, words bubbling out of her in an abhorrent shriek that shocked even her.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you ruining so many lives? Why do you _always_ ruin lives?" Her knees felt weak and she grabbed the railing behind her once again for support. "My friends…please…" She trailed off, voice drawing faint as she began to beg. "Please, I'll do anything you want. Just don't … don't _do_ this."

It was what President Shinra wanted to hear, and the victorious smirk on his face didn't waver. She also noticed that his hand did not reach for his PHS to call off the order, a fact that had her heart plummeting. "I'm afraid I can't do that," he told her plainly, and her heart sunk further. "You made a mistake, Aerith. I will not have you question my loyalty again. I needed the perfect catalyst to enact my plans against Wutai anyway, so this isn't all for your benefit. It's selfish of you to assume as such."

Aerith didn't have the words nor the strength to answer – there wasn't enough air in the world for her scream and the mako haze was bitter on her tongue anyway, like blood except not, a bastardization of something that should have been beautiful but took a wrong turn and became poison instead. Somewhere behind her she thought she heard Rufus shout something; a curse or an insult maybe, but it was lost on her as the night was broken by a heart-shattering, mental-rending groan.

The world held its breath. Even the reactors seemed to have gone silent, until one, two, three explosions rang through the night from down below. Their echoes bounced off the building and fell upon her ears, and for a moment she could only grip the railing and stare as something inside of her plummeted, and nothing came to fill in the void as the ground trembled beneath her.

And then it all clicked.

" _NO!_ "

She barely heard the scream that tore from her throat, but she felt the pain as ragged hyperventilation raced through her veins, anxiety tightened heart, and a cold sweat beaded her brow. She was only vaguely aware that she collapsed when her knees cracked against the concrete and a seam in her dress tore from the force of her collapse. Her fingers clenched the rails as she watched, unable to look away as the entire plate careened a little, tilting like a sinking ship. She could only stare as chunks of the ground, the pieces that held houses and expressways and train tracks and _people_ , began to break apart from others. Each fell down in a silent symphony, and a few moments after they began to fall, a trembling ripped through the air and joined the earthquake in her feet.

All that existed around her was _noise noise NOISE_ as she began to cry. Souls, screaming for help as their lives were snuffed out, began to hit her one by one in a discord of confusion and terror. They came slowly at first, each brushing against her mind and leaving open wounds on her heart before they passed along to the lifestream. Then they began to come faster and faster, quickly overwhelming all her senses and splitting her mind open. Aerith cried out, grabbing her head in her hands. She felt lightheaded as she desperately greeted each soul, searching desperately for familiarity that she simultaneously longed for and dreaded finding. They were coming too fast now; she couldn't keep track of them all. Terror gripped at her heart at missing the last chance to say goodbye to those she truly cared about…

Before she knew what she was doing, Aerith was folding her hands. Tears streaming down her cheeks, eyelids shuttered closed from the fiery torment and gaping empty wound of the no-longer sector seven plate and instead swam in a world of familiar lifestream green. Souls were everywhere in a way she'd never experienced before, and each one of them was clawing at her presence, as if she could save them from the torment they were going through.

It was too much.

As Aerith untethered herself from the waking world, she thought perhaps that this was for the best after all, that each of these souls expected her to accept their pain and move onto the promised land.

_The Promised Land…_

Everything fell together in a single snap of her mind, and her body toppled onto the balcony, her mind leaving the world for those that needed her more.

_I'm sorry_ , was her last coherent thought.

* * *

_Cloud_

Sneaking up to the plate and to the Shinra parking garage had been easier than Cloud had anticipated. With a biking helmet masking his identity and the motorbike itself registered in Kunsel's name, it had been stunningly easy to join the expressway at the top of the service tunnels and even easier passing the gullible guards who mistook him for the bike's _actual_ owner. Apparently, Kunsel was a fan of wearing helmets, and it wasn't uncommon for him to return to base without showing his face at all – a habit that saved Cloud quite a bit of time as he made his way to Shinra's headquarters.

Cloud followed the ramp's color and number coded system that corresponded with the little sticker on the gas tank of the bike – blue level 5. He went around a few levels before finding Kunsel's bike's designated section, and after he parked in the last available slot beside rows of other identical bikes, he switched out his helmet for Aerith's cap. He was also carrying the rest of the clothing the strange massage parlor lady, Madam M, had given him in a bag slung over his shoulder. Though, maybe _given_ wasn't the right word, considering that she had demanded that he pay for her gift in return. He blushed a bit, glad he was alone. _That_ was something he wouldn't need to recant to anybody else.

Shoving the embarrassment aside, Cloud squared his shoulders, drew the cap low so that it shadowed his eyes, and glanced towards the stairwell leading to the main entrance. He briefly took out his PHS to double check Kunsel's instructions before setting off on foot to continue his infiltration, stepping lightly to make as little noise as possible.

A loud rumble shook the building for an extended amount of time as he reached the stairwell, and Cloud backed up against a wall in momentary surprise but after about fifteen seconds, the rumbling began to taper off. He frowned to himself, glancing downwards. Could the trains be moving by that closely and loudly? On any other occasion he'd rather investigate before continuing, but he was on a time-sensitive mission and didn't have the luxury of a spare moment to look further into it.

He continued his ascent of the stairs to the main level, only a little winded when he reached the top. An empty, completely clean hallway greeted him, one that led around a corner to a wall of windows and doors that shone into a massive atrium that was the entrance to the Shinra building.

While Cloud had vague memories of walking through these doors back in the day, he was surprised that he did not remember much of the building itself. Perhaps he'd spent a lot of time away from here on missions? He could faintly recall some time spent in Junon, and other small missions like Modeoheim sprang to mind. Of course his last mission, the one that had ended up with his hometown razed to the ground and mother killed, wasn't one he was bound to forget anytime soon.

He was getting sidetracked in his memories again, and Cloud shook his head quickly to clear his thoughts. He was here to rescue Aerith as quickly and quietly as he could, although he wouldn't be opposed to bashing in a few Turks' heads while he was at it, this much he could agree with himself on. Taking a deep breath, he began his confident walk deeper into enemy territory, hand itching to grasp his sword in case he was ambushed.

He wasn't. The main floor was empty, something that instantly had Cloud a bit suspicious. Yes, it was late at night, but he'd just walked right in the front door. Not even the normal guards were stationed at the front on their nightly patrols. The entire thing screamed _trap_ and yet Cloud knew he couldn't let that stop him. He'd fought worse, after all, and even though his stock of potions wasn't that great, he had enough strength and a cure materia equipped to help him along the way. His footsteps reverberated in the tall space, a lone noise in the otherwise empty atmosphere. Taking the stairs two at a time, he noticed that the next level up was a lounge and welcome area for visitors. Large, pristine motorcycles sat behind thick glass, their metal bodies illuminated by spotlights. He allowed himself a half second of appreciation for the vehicles before he finally spotted other people at the elevators – guards stationed at their entrance, and a surprisingly small crowd huddled around them as they waited for the elevators to arrive. Cloud used the traffic to his advantage, and as one set of doors dinged open, he was able to morph in with the crowd and let his shorter stature help for once in masking his identity.

When the elevator was packed to the rafters and the doors had slid shut again, it was only then that he realized the buzzing excitement coming from the crowd was not positive. Their tense whispering, their tears, and their hushed voices all hinted at something quite the opposite. As soon as the elevator reached the top floor, Cloud found himself shoved out the doors and up the escalator to meet the next elevator off to the side. This one had an even larger queue as everybody seemed to be trying to reach the upper floors in a fast, frantic pace.

Curiosity got the better of him. "What's going on?" he asked to somebody standing next to them. The person, a young woman a few years older than him with a pencil skirt and a smartly pressed blouse, didn't even glance his way. Instead, the fear in her eyes was accentuated by the trembling finger she rose. She was pointing towards the next set of elevators, towards the glass wall that surrounded it.

Cloud was about to ask her to elaborate, but then he was pulled by the crowd as people surged into both elevators as they arrived, and it was out of pure luck he was able to squeeze into the second one right before the doors closed. Everybody was clambering around him to see out the solid glass walls of the elevator, and Cloud found himself in a poor position to see what was going on. He set his shoulders, closed his eyes, and relied on his hearing to help him out.

"It's – it's _gone_ ," one shocked voice said.

Another was crying freely as they added, "I can't reach my family!"

"How could this happen?"

Cloud's eyes flew open and he studied the air from what he could see above the heads of those in his way. The sky looked gray, foggy, cloudy. He couldn't make out anything from here.

The elevator let off at the fifty-ninth floor and the crowd piled out, pushing him along in their determination to get the best vantage point to look at some otherworldly horror he had yet to lay eyes on. Cloud let the mad rush of people go first, and then he followed them into a wide room with emblazoned sign above it, which read "Skyview Hall."

Curiosity was getting the better of him now. Cloud pulled his PHS out to see if Tifa had sent him any messages yet but the device was as silent as ever, a change he thought would be welcome after Kunsel's constant messaging up until the night before when he'd fallen. _No news is good news…right?_ he thought to himself. Hopefully Tifa and Kunsel had taken care of business back in sector seven and were now on their way to provide him backup.

That was wishful thinking and Cloud reminded himself that he needed to be careful expecting others' help, so he resolved to keep his mission solo - which meant that his first course of action was to collect information, such as learn why everyone seemed so stunned. He made to follow the crowds flocking towards the right corner of the room at a quick pace.

A cycle of stunned silence and horrified whispering engulfed him as he approached the back of the crowd. From this angle, the night view of the sky was actually quite a sight to look at. On the other side of the room, the ruins of Mako reactor five gently puffed small, beautiful specks of green lazily into the air. After a few minutes of waiting for a good spot to sneak in, Cloud finally saw an opening and pushed his way forward to join the rest of the Shinra Electric Power Company in gawking at the sight down below.

Smoke was the dark gray that had billowed up and blotted out the stars, this he could now see. As it rose, he was able to catch glimpses of the damage down below, although it took a few more moments for his brain to process what his eyes were seeing.

A section of Midgar – so like the slice of a rotting pizza Barret liked to claim it was - was licked in flames of orange and red as the gaping wound of empty space permeated the room and hearts of all looking from above. A plate had fallen without warning, voices whispered around him. Avalanche had attacked again. Phone lines were overwhelmed as people tried to reach loved ones.

Cloud couldn't believe his eyes. He found himself squatting in the front of the crowd, one gloved hand pressed against the glass as he tried to make out through the smoke which plate had fallen. He determinedly ignored the spoken number that rose from the lips of those around him, beginning a steady stream of denial into his mind. No, he needed _proof._ He _had_ to see it for himself. He had to know–

For one moment, the smoke cleared from the reactor that stood stalwart, a lone beacon that had once butted against its sector. The number reflected the orange and red dimly onto the emptiness that now stood in front of it.

Like a radio that had suddenly come back into range, his hearing began picking up everything at once. Sector seven. Sector _seven._

_Sector seven had fallen._

Something in his chest went brittle, broke, and then sank entirely, and Cloud suddenly felt the strong urge to vomit. He stood up too quickly; spots clouded his vision as he pressed off from the glass, and he stumbled into others moving to fill his spot as he backpedalled in horror. His hand fumbled in his pocket for his PHS. Fingers trembled as they fought to hit the buttons he needed them to hit. He pressed the device to his ear, desperation creeping into his bones as he waited for the ringing to start. Instead of that, a single tone signaling the call hadn't gone through shouted into his ear.

He tried again. And again. Each time, the PHS couldn't connect to the network. Without realizing what his feet were doing, Cloud found a plush bench and sank into it while subconsciously pulling his sword out of the way. His hand gripped the useless PHS almost too tightly. His hearing was fading in and out as he felt his breathing hitch, but then he was brought back to reality by a hand clapping on his shoulder.

"Hey, you're a friend of Kunsel's, right?"

The inquiring voice barely registered with Cloud, and lost in his own thoughts, he gave one terse nod as an answer. He couldn't peel his eyes from the gently rising smoke, black and choking outside the windows. What had happened to Tifa? What happened to Barret, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge? What happened to Marle, the landlady that gave him a room and had looked after Tifa all those years? What had happened to the place he'd _just_ begun to call home? Meanwhile, one thought buzzed in his mind, over and over and over again just like that PHS's busy signal:

_Did I lose everything again?_

The man above him was speaking again, and it took all his willpower to even register the words. "…sent me a message to keep an eye out for you. I know where you're trying to go, and I can help get you there," the man was saying. Cloud tore his eyes away to look up at the newcomer. The man had short, blond curly hair and an olive complexion underneath a standard SOLDIER uniform, and his anxious gaze darted back and forth from Cloud to the windows and back again. He held in his arms two identical helmets, one of which he shoved towards Cloud's arms.

Cloud looked dumbly at it for a moment, trying to force his brain to bring him back to the present.

_There's nothing I can do right now. I have to complete my current mission first…then I can figure out what happened_.

"Who are you?" he asked in confusion.

The other man sighed, his blond curls bobbing with the movement. "Look, I'm sorry – we don't have a lot of time if you want to get into Hojo's lab. Luxiere's the name. I'm a friend of Kunsel's, and he told me to keep an eye out for you."

"Friend of Kunsel's?" Cloud repeated, before realizing he probably sounded like an idiot. He ran a gloved hand through his spikey hair – _Keep it together, Strife –_ and, after shoving his PHS back into his pocket, stood up and grabbed the waiting helmet. "How did you know who I was?" he asked. "And you're going to help me?"

"God, you're thick," the other man, Luxiere, muttered under his breath as he slid his own helmet over his head. "Kunsel told me you were a short kid, with blond hair that defied gravity. That hat isn't exactly hiding you, bro."

Cloud, having already pushed on his helmet, slipped Aerith's cap back into his pocket and his thoughts slipped with it, and he found himself once again glancing towards the window. A small part of him wondered if he could see Tifa from here, just a glance to know that she was safe… but another much larger part brutally reminded him that that was impossible, and that he needed to _focus._

The SOLDIER's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, something that Cloud was thankful for. "Come on," Luxiere told him. "We gotta get going, while everybody else is distracted."

Cloud nodded and allowed himself to leave Skyview Hall with this new stranger under the premise that, if anything, he could probably take him down if they were alone relatively easily. His mission was to save Aerith after all, and if this man claimed to be sent by Kunsel, then maybe he _was_ telling the truth about wanting to help. It didn't stop Cloud from unnecessarily checking over his shoulder to make sure his sword was still strapped to his back. It was, thankfully. He never wanted to be away from it when he needed it again.

"Where are we going?" he asked as they rounded their third escalator going upwards. The number "62" was emblazoned on the wall ahead of them.

"Well, ah…here's the thing," Luxiere said in a hushed, almost sheepish voice. "What Kunsel asked me to do would usually be pretty impossible for someone with my clearance level, but Kunsel isn't the only one working outside the box here." He grinned. "I _may_ have another partner who will help, but _only_ if you speak to him first."

This set Cloud on edge, and he gripped the hilt of his sword firmly and planted his feet at the top of the escalator before an imposing square door. "Don't lie to me," he spat. "Tell me what's going on."

The other man turned back around, expression hidden behind his helmet's metal visor. "Look, it's not my place to say, but I promise he's a friend," he promised. Cloud studied his body language for a moment: unclenched hands and body directly facing him showed him he was open, telling the truth. While Cloud wasn't the best at reading people, he would have to trust Luxiere.

He sighed, trying to release the angry tension in his shoulders still taut from the shock of losing sector seven and not being able to search for his friends. "Lead the way."

Luxiere led him through the door in front of them, which gave way into an impressive two-story library. Artificial light from the glass ceiling above stained the bookshelves and antique book spines a sickly gold, and the room was completely empty… except for, Cloud noticed a moment later, the occasional white robot. The robots quietly hummed across the floor as they sorted books and organized the space.

"What is this place?" Cloud asked as he looked at the upper floor of the circular room, his voice carrying in the space.

"Corporate archives," Luxiere supplied instantly. "Come on."

The other SOLDIER led the way towards the other side of the cylindrical room, where he then pushed against one of the books on the bookshelf – not to tidy it, as Cloud had been expecting, but instead to open a secret door that revealed a hidden staircase. Cloud recovered from his surprise immediately however, and as they climbed, Cloud took a quick, steadying breath. With nothing else to focus on – there were no bookshelves or no secret doors in the stairwell, only walls full of shelves of books and soft, muted carpet – his mind slid back to the sector seven plate, and on the sector seven slums lying beneath the broken plate. His small room down there had never held any personal possessions, but it had been right next to Tifa's, and she had a few things from home stored there. Was she able to grab anything before the plate fell?

_Is she even still alive?_

His mind was swimming with anger and confusion and hurt and other emotions he didn't have the time nor the mental capacity to deal with, not with the current mission in mind. _Focus, Strife._ Aerith was somewhere in the floors above him, probably already being subject to invasive poking and prodding by the infamous Professor Hojo, who he himself had been under the knife of so many times –

Cloud's thinking came to a screeching halt as he heard Sephiroth's familiar voice echo in his ears and around his mind, " _There you go._ "

_What the hell am I thinking?_

He'd never come in contact with Hojo that he could remember, and yet the thought of the man sent his hands curling into fists and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Whatever he wasn't able to remember wasn't pleasant, and it definitely had to do with the infamous Shinra scientist.

At the top of the stairs and out another door stood a man, nondescript in nature with a simple cream suit and a curious expression. He gave a slight tilt of his head by way of greeting, which Cloud uncertainly returned.

"Welcome," the man said. "I am Hart. The mayor is waiting inside."

Cloud eyed the door behind the man distrustfully. "The…mayor? Of Midgar?" he repeated slowly.

"The one and only," Hart replied dryly. "Please entertain him for a few minutes. He's very curious to meet you."

Looking back at Luxiere who was standing there with his hands on his hips in a relaxed pose, Cloud took that as a sign that there wasn't an ambush waiting for him. At least, not yet. For now, he could hear out the mayor of Midgar if that's what the politician wanted of him.

Hart opened the door for him, and Cloud stepped through the threshold into an office. Around a corner, the space was dark and lit by the views of at least a dozen screens, each showing various angles of cameras throughout the Shinra building. Upon a quick inspection, he could see the piles of people crowded against windows as they stared at the wreckage below, only for the screen to suddenly blink and show the scene from another angle A muted television in the corner was covering live the destruction of the plate, something he had to rip his eyes from.

Next, he turned to look at the main desk, on top of which sat a few large monitors and a keycard holder. It was only when somebody spoke that he realized there was somebody hiding behind the desk.

"Welcome, welcome… please take a seat," a reedy, older voice greeted. Cloud looked at the couch that dominated the space of the small office, back towards the desk, and then sat down, stretching his sword behind him so it rested comfortably on the couch without harming him. The bag of Aerith's things, a new addition he still wasn't used to, hugged his middle. He pushed it to the side as the hidden figure finally stood up and revealed themselves.

The man behind the desk was not exactly what Cloud expected when he thought of the mayor of the largest city in Gaia. He was terribly thin, with reed-like arms and legs smothered by an ill-fitting, overly-large suit. He was bald, but made up for it with the strangely pointed beard and stunning thick mustache, both colored a dull gray that was more likely from age than dye. He was also clearly excited, as his thin lips were pressed together eagerly and his beady eyes – which were nearly hidden beneath his bushy eyebrows – studied Cloud for the longest moment. Then, finally:

"I am Domino, Mayor of the great metropolis of Mako!" the man introduced himself dramatically, holding out his arms. "And you are a _day_ _early._ "

Cloud frowned at him, his eyes flicking back to the television in the corner before once more focusing on the mayor. "Early? Early for what?" he asked hesitantly.

"You _are_ Avalanche, are you not?" the other man demanded, and Cloud nodded slowly in confirmation. "Well, the infiltration isn't happening until tomorrow. Were you not clued in?"

Sighing, Cloud replied, "I'm not here for some infiltration. I'm here to get Aerith back."

Recognition flitted across Mayor Domino's features. He glanced at the wall of screens next to Cloud and then back at his desk, and a few quick keystrokes later, the monitors displayed new photos: it was dozens of pictures of him and Aerith taken the few times they'd been outside Shinra together, first at the coffee shop and then as recently as tonight. Interspersed among them were different angles of his time at the colosseum, and grainy shots of Aerith in her dress up in the VIP box.

"Is this you?" Domino asked with a pointed finger towards a particularly impressive shot of Cloud slicing a crab in two. Cloud, staring at the photos for a moment, decided he was safe enough to remove his helmet for now. He took it off as his answer and met the mayor's eyes again. That would have to be confirmation enough.

"I need to get to Aerith," he reiterated. "We think she's being held by Hojo."

The mayor brought a hand to his beard, stroking it while in thought. "This complicates things," he finally said. "I even called the vice-president down to meet you."

"You did – _what_?" Cloud sputtered, leaping to his feet and grasping the hilt of the buster sword. "I don't have time to deal with him!"

"Calm down," Domino snapped, holding his hands out as if that could indeed calm Cloud down. "He was indisposed at a meeting with the president and things aren't going to be happening quickly with the destruction of sector seven, so he shouldn't be down for a few more minutes. So let's recap here: you're not here with Avalanche, you're just here to steal the president's ward?"

Cloud glowered, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. "I told her I would keep her safe," he said stubbornly. "I made a _promise._ "

The mayor sighed in annoyance and crossed his arms. "There are more important things than love, but you are young and I suppose I can excuse you for that. Will you be joining the rest of Avalanche in the infiltration tomorrow?"

"I had no intention," Cloud responded, choosing to entirely ignore the Mayor's _other_ assumption. "My mission is Aerith. Besides, what about sector seven?"

"What about it?" Domino shrugged. "The plate fell and I have no power here in Shinra to do anything to help. However, what I _can_ focus on is our retaliation plan, and that remains the same: tomorrow, Avalanche infiltrates Midgar and forcibly removes President Shinra from his position. There isn't anything more we can do except wait."

Something about the way Mayor Domino said those words made Cloud's blood boil, but he continued to remind himself that he didn't have time, nor the energy to spare, to argue about matters outside of his control. Instead he asked, "What do you know about Hojo?"

"Professor Hojo?" Domino ran a hand over his beard. "He's the head of Science and Research here at Shinra. Some say he's a nasty piece of work, but I don't often see him," he added with a shrug. "I do know that your Aerith visits him often, however. Some secret project on the President's orders. If she's with him, she's probably fine."

Cloud stood up and adjusted his sword, knowing that this wasn't true – at least, not this time, not when she'd betrayed the president himself, and her so-called guardian was the only one stopping things from getting worse. He pressed his hand on her bag of things, making sure it was still at his side, before turning to Domino. "I have to go. Good luck with your infiltration."

"I've given the SOLDIER waiting for you access to the sixty-fourth floor where the entrance to the science lab is. Good luck with your rescue," Domino replied in the same tone. Cloud turned around and left the room, his resolve to complete his mission quickly and efficiently further tempered, especially if things were about to change at Shinra for good – and especially since the vice president of the company knew he was here when he wasn't supposed to be.

Luxiere and Hart, who had both been standing in the archives in awkward silence, perked up at his presence. "Ready to go?" Luxiere asked as he shifted on his feet. Cloud nodded in reply, after stuffing the annoying helmet back on his head. Soon after they bid Hart goodbye, and then left the archives for good.

"Get everything figured out?" the other SOLDIER asked, his tone conversational as they headed back up the stairs. Cloud noted the keycard in his hand that was ready to be scanned, and he realized that must be the access he had needed that Domino had mentioned.

_At least one good thing had come out of the stupid, time-wasting meeting,_ he thought dryly.

He turned back up the stairwell. "Not really," he replied. "I'm not here for the reasons he thought I was."

There was a beat of silence, and then Luxiere coughed. "Oh. Oh, uh, okay." Cloud glanced his way; though he couldn't see the SOLDIER's expression beyond his helmet's dark visor, he got the sense that Luxiere was somehow tense, maybe even a bit disappointed.

"Oh, okay," he replied in a quieter voice. "That's too bad, we could use all the muscle we can get with the big plan."

"How do you factor into this, anyway?" Cloud questioned. It wasn't that he wanted to strike up a conversation, but at least time went faster and it kept him grounded in his mission instead of wandering back to whatever had happened to the sector seven plate.

Luxiere chuckled to himself as he rounded the next escalator. "Isn't that a story…" He scanned his card at the elevator, and it cheerfully beeped to signal them through. "All I'll say is that a lot has happened around here that doesn't add up, and it was by pure chance that I got roped in with the mayor at all. I blame Kunsel, honestly," he added with another humorless laugh. "He's been asking a lot of questions lately."

"Questions?" Cloud repeated slowly. "Like what?"

"You know, stuff like where the infantry was stationed and all that. He's been trying to get his hand on a sealed KIA file for awhile, too. He's not the most… _subtle_ of SOLDIERs."

When they reached the top of the escalator, Cloud looked around in suspicion. He didn't know what he had been expecting, exactly: maybe a secret lab, mako bubbling in pods, metal beds hammered into the floor, but it certainly hadn't been this. This floor looked like a glorified office building, nothing more. Off to the side was a door with a keycard on it. It was this door that Luxiere led him towards.

"This is as far as I can get you," Luxiere told him, flipping up his visor so Cloud could see his eyes. "You'll need to be stealthy while you're in there. Nobody knows what Hojo does behind his closed doors, and the place is entirely his territory. He's pretty messed up, I'm sure you've heard."

Cloud nodded. "I've heard," he agreed, pushing down the strange feeling once more that he'd done more than _heard_ about the mad scientist.

Before Luxiere could swipe the keycard, he glanced around and then paled. "Ah shit," he swore quietly. "Here comes the vice president himself."

"What?" Cloud followed his gaze to the other end of the hallway, where none other than who had to be Rufus Shinra was exiting the main room in the middle and striding their way. He hadn't seen them yet, a small blessing that had Cloud hissing between his teeth, _"Hurry up._ " Running into Shinra Junior himself was _not_ a part of his plans, and he waited impatiently as Luxiere swiped the card and flung open the door. Cloud darted in without so much as a goodbye.

"Good luck, man," Luxiere told him with kind eyes and a thumbs up. "Stay stealthy and let me know if you need anything else. I'll hang around the recreation hall for a bit."

Cloud nodded and thanked the SOLDIER before letting the door slide behind him. The deafening silence that followed enveloped him and set him on edge.

It had taken him quicker than he'd thought to get here, and he was inwardly grateful that Kunsel had had the idea to call ahead and set up help on the inside. The last time he and Tifa had snuck into the Shinra building, Kunsel's 'help' had gotten them through the doors but it was by pure luck and mistaken identity that they had been mistaken to be related to Rufus's party. Now, while he knew that a few people had caught on to his presence, he was still safe to move around without worrying about SOLDIERs or infantry chasing him in the meantime.

Something about Shinra troopers chasing him seemed to spark a strange sense of familiarity within him, and he was rapidly getting sick of these déjà vu moments, not to mention that he didn't have time for them. He decided it was best to keep his sword in hand now, especially at the echoing of ominous warnings by both Mayor Domino and Luxiere that everything in Hojo's lab was a secret from the rest of the facility. That thought made him a little nervous, and he did _not_ get nervous.

As he maneuvered through the mazes of junk, crates, and large empty tanks, he couldn't help but do a double-take at the latter. It was as if he'd seen them before, except filled with something nauseating and green...

He shook his head to clear the image. _Keep moving_ , he told himself in annoyance. _Get Aerith and get out of here._

Up a flight of stairs, he found himself on a viewing platform of sorts. A locked door and thick glass stood between him and the rest of the lab, which stretched out dark and imposing beneath him. Careful not to step in front of the window and expose his location, Cloud used the door as cover and removed his helmet before peeking his head around the side to get a glimpse at what he was dealing with.

A large, expansive room greeted him through the window of the viewing platform. On the edges of the room at various workstations, scientists in their stereotypical white lab coats were working away, no indication on their faces that they even knew what had happened outside like the rest of the building did. The walls were packed to the rafters with sealed containers that almost pressed flat against the cavities that held them. The ambiance of the room was sheathed in shades of red and gray, which left an ominous sight to behold.

Something moving caught his attention, and Cloud focused his vision on the other side of the room just in time to see a few scientists pushing a stretcher into a caged elevator. A glimpse of bright red caught his eye and his heart dropped as he realized that he'd found her.

"Aerith…" he breathed, hand coming out to touch the glass. He had to find a way in. He had to find a way in _now._

"What are you doing here?" a voice snapped from behind him. Cloud tore his eyes away from the caged elevator as it slowly descended and whipped around, brandishing his sword at the newcomer just as the other stopped closer for comfort than he liked. It was a man in a white coat, with long, straight black hair wrapped in a low ponytail and tinted circular glasses. His wrinkled, unpleasant face was twisted in annoyance, but when their eyes met it morphed into something else that Cloud couldn't quite comprehend.

"I'm here for Aerith," Cloud snapped, holding the sword against the man's throat.

The scientist looked contemplative for a moment, and then a strange gleam of realization shone in his eyes. "Are you sure that's why you're here?" he asked calmly, then leaned forward and scrutinized Cloud, something that made him uncomfortable. "Oh _ho_ , it _is_ you! My boy, are you certain you came here for the president's ward?"

"Why else would I come here?" Cloud returned a bit more uncertainly than he'd like. Was this… "You're Hojo," he added as he realized the man he was dealing with was Aerith's captor himself.

The scientist clapped his hands together once, as if that very realization was music to his ears. "Excellent, yes, of course I am," he agreed amiably. "And you do not recognize me?"

"I recognize an asshole when I see one," Cloud countered, taking a menacing step forward. "Now lead me to Aerith and we'll be on our way."

Hojo's face twisted into amusement, and he smirked back. "I'm afraid that won't be possible at this time," he told Cloud. "She's rather _indisposed_ at the moment. Do not fret, however… you are most welcome to join her."

"What are you planning to do to her?" Cloud growled, his sword so close he saw a prick of red drip down Hojo's neck. "I should run you through right now!"

The laugh that escaped the scientist's lips made the hairs on his arms stand up at the sheer _familiarity_ of it. "It wasn't _me,_ " he expressed. "Rather, I think the planet is reaching out to her, which is _exactly_ the perfect time to run a few experiments. Now, would you like to join her or not?"

"What kind of question is that?" Cloud asked angrily. "Bring me to her or I'll end this here and now."

The scientist sighed, smirk never leaving his face as he resigned himself to his fate. "Very well, follow me, boy," he replied conversationally as he eyed the sword Cloud held at his neck. Cloud dropped it ever-so-slightly so he could unlock the door.

Hojo led the way down the stairs. Cloud warily followed, his sword mere inches from the his back as they descended. He was acutely aware of the stares and gasps from the personnel in the lab as one by one they all noticed the spectacle he'd created. Cloud grit his teeth and continued pressing Hojo forward.

"Look, everyone!" Hojo called in an eerily gleeful voice to everybody else. "Look what I found!"

"Shut up," Cloud hissed, pressing the buster sword into the scientist's back. "Or I'll run you through."

This only seemed to get Hojo more excited. "Of course, like you've done to another before," he replied matter-of-factly. This caused Cloud to falter for a moment as his mind began drumming a light pounding against his skull. The edges of his vision stained green, and he had to fight himself to make sure he didn't lose grip of the sword.

"Take me to Aerith," he reiterated, forcing his voice to sound more confident than he was beginning to feel. He didn't want to harm innocent civilians, but he knew he'd have no choice if anybody else decided to become a hero for their boss while he was trying to get Aerith out of here. He glanced around himself at those watching with scared, nervous, and nondescript faces.

Aerith's captor tutted and turned, much to Cloud's surprise. Instead of addressing him, he looked back and forth at his team that surrounded them. "For those of you who don't recognize the specimen here, Failed Case #2 of the Jenova Project has returned to us."

The word _Jenova_ hit Cloud like a ton of bricks, and his vision swam dangerously for a moment as he tried to absorb this information. He could feel it ramming against the careful puzzle he'd been building for himself, trying to force itself into the memories that made sense. For a second, he forgot where he was again as he clutched his forehead in a desperate attempt to relieve the sudden, blinding pain that erupted there.

"Does anybody remember this particular specimen's weakness?" Hojo called as if from far away, abundantly eager even from Cloud's point of view as he forced his eyes back open and did his best to shove the headache and roaring in his ears aside. He straightened again, bringing the sword up and trying not to show the exertion it took to perform such a task.

Like schoolchildren to a teacher, a chorus of voices called back the same word. " _Mako._ "

The word alone sent shivers down his back. What the hell were they talking about? "I'm a SOLDIER," he said in susurration, his tone almost desperate as he addressed the scientist in front of him. His sword fell the slightest fraction of an inch. He didn't notice.

"My boy," Hojo was shaking his head with his arms out in glee, "You were never in SOLDIER."

The headache and loud noises in his ears disappeared for the slightest moment, just in time for him to hear a final footstep and feel a sharp, piercing pain in his neck. Cool liquid burned like an icy fire in his veins as he realized with growing horror that he'd been injected with something. His hand flew up to his neck as suddenly his vision wavered again, green overpowering all else, and then his legs gave out, his mind reiterating the last words he'd registered over and over:

_Never in SOLDIER…_


	12. Memory is a Fickle Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing the end of our journey and I thought it was high time we push this slow burn forward. Thank you as always to my dear friend and beta Rand0mSmil3z who takes time out of her busy schedule writing TWO fics simultaneously to edit mine! And boy, does she have some great suggestions. Enjoy, my friends!

_Aerith_

Everything was overwhelming.

As the consequences of Aerith's punishment engulfed her entire being, she could no longer discern her whereabouts. There was no more looming presence of her guardian turned captor. All she was aware of was the thrashing, weeping souls that begged her for one last chance to say goodbye to those they loved. She could taste the dust and soot that clung to each soul as they passed. She could see the emptiness of the sky above a slum that hadn't seen it in decades, a slum that was very much burning. She could hear the muffled screams of others still trapped or searching for loved ones. She could smell a strange metallic scent in the air that reminded her of mako, but it was mingled with the stench of fresh blood – a scent that she had never come across before, yet could somehow place. She could almost reach out and touch the tears of each soul that left its physical body and returned to the planet.

For what felt like hours, the barrage of marching, demanding souls clawed at her and pleaded with her, as if she could offer more than just her presence as the last Cetra. Inevitably, each was ripped away and gently placed among the rest in the ever-flowing current of the lifestream, she felt the slightest bit more alive again. Each stranger was another face she didn't recognize, another face whose familiarity she didn't need to part with, too.

And then, after an agonizing long time, they stopped coming. Aerith gasped as if just coming up from air, then quickly wiped away fresh tears from her swollen eyes. While she was certain her guardian's goal in enacting his punishment was to rip away those she had grown fond of, she guessed he had no idea the true torture that had awaited upon snuffing out so much life so close to her. She felt raw and fragile, like a livewire left out in the rain or a glass bowl in the middle of the Midgar expressway. Her skin, when she glanced at it, looked almost translucent. _What?_ For a moment she inspected her hands, her gaze narrowed in confusion, until it hit her:

_I'm in the lifestream._

She glanced up with new eyes. Everywhere she looked, crystal-clear water with no bottom in sight mirrored a perfect blue sky. No sun hung above her head, and yet light seemed to radiate all around her. The temperature here was pleasant, and for once she wasn't feeling chilled. The air smelled sweet, like the distant memory of a trip she took with her guardian to Costa del Sol.

Aerith slowly inhaled, feeling as she could breathe easy for the first time in… well, she didn't know how long.

Yet now that the souls had left her, Aerith had the crushing feeling of being truly and utterly alone. It didn't help that at least twice she thought she spotted movement in her peripheral vision and when she tried to turn and look, a strange fog would fill the air for a few moments before dispersing again. If she didn't know better, she would think perhaps it was some kind of spirit haunting her from just out of reach.

"Hello?" she called out into the empty space. She expected her voice to echo in the vast quiet around her, but instead it came out rather muted and soft, like she was speaking into a pillow. Nobody answered her, but then she caught more movement and whipped her head in that direction – only for it to be gone. For the slightest moment, she thought she'd caught the sight of black hair.

That was a coincidence, it had to be. Aerith hugged her arms around herself for comfort. How long had she been here? How long had it taken for her to face each soul as they passed, to search desperately for her friends who had never showed? She had fought tooth and nail to greet each of the endless trail of lives that had descended into the planet like one giant wave, all in the desperate effort to not miss a single face.

And Aerith had never felt anything like this, either. There were strange points in her life that she could point to greeting a soul as they passed, and it was usually a fleeting, gentle pressure on her mind before they were gone again. She'd never been bombarded like this, been as overpowered as this, been _overwhelmed_ like this. It had sapped her energy.

_There it is again!_ Suddenly alert, she whipped her head to follow the strange movement and sure enough, the unmistakable black hair sent a thrill through her heart. "…Zack?" she voiced anxiously. "Is that you?"

She waited a long moment, and then another, but nothing stirred in reply. Aerith steadied her breathing and reminded herself that she was in the lifestream, there were bound to be millions of souls who could be reaching out – not to mention that _black hair_ wasn't exactly uncommon. Instead of worrying about it, she bowed her head, clasped her hands together, and prayed.

The planet felt so _close_ here. She could feel the very breath of Gaia, as its power thrummed through her as if she was but a small ship lost on its wild seas , and yet she was not afraid. She stood in the eye of its storm and simply breathed, eyes closed and skin tingling, as its currents hummed around her. It sang a gentle, familiar melody, one that brought her back to her early childhood in the lab with her mother. The tune had been a comfort then, but the memories that occurred afterwards soured the feeling.

She took a steadying breath and asked, "Why am I here?"

From behind her closed eyelids, Aerith just barely made out the shift in light around her. A strange warmth that could only be the planet flooded into her mind in a soothing motion, as if it were trying to calm her. As she stood there, listening, it began to explain in feelings rather than words what it wanted to say.

The emotions shared with her were foreign, and it felt like she was running her fingers against ancient parchment. Each came with a mental image. The first thing she felt was a writhing bone-deep fear, which was then followed by warmth. Accompanying this budding emotion was a sharp, mournful pang that reminded her of herself when she was younger until she realized that it _was_ her. She lifted a hand to her lips, wide-eyed as she watched her younger self bow over in sorrow, crying in the arms of a stranger as others hauled her mother's body away. The warmth from the stranger felt like safety; it felt like _home._ The warmth brought a tingling into her fingers and toes.

The second wave of emotions contained a flicker of surprise followed quickly by bubbling excitement. The image was very familiar to her. It was of her church back in the sector five slums, the one that she was allowed to visit every year. She saw herself in a long pink dress and red jacket kneeling over an unconscious figure. When the person began to move, it was only then that she caught the telltale blond spikes of the ex-SOLDIER she knew very well. He looked alarmed, and she pointed to the ceiling and absolutely beamed at him. Her heart sang as the emotions of the scene brought to the foreground the feelings she had been questioning before now when it came to Cloud. This feeling now was nothing short of love.

That feeling was interrupted by a third burst of emotion and color, and she wasn't prepared at all for the _wrongness_ that accompanied it. Purple stained the entire image in molted shades of violet and lilac, and a face – pallid, gaunt, and chillingly smiling – flashed before her eyes. With it the words _Jenova, Calamity_ rang in earnest in her head. As she watched the image, she saw Cloud again, buster sword in hand as he stared at the creature, not angry or ready to battle, but rather entranced. His lips formed a word she couldn't quite read…

As the wrongness of that emotion washed away, she was offered small glimpses into a life she had never known: Tears pricked her eyes as she watched herself travel across the continent in a buggy, take a ship over to the other side of the sea, and hike across deserts and over mountains. Cloud and Tifa had joined her, along with others she didn't recognize as well; _good people_ she knew without question, people with histories that were doing everything in their power to make… _something_ right. The overarching emotion here was easy, and yet not something she necessarily understood:

_Family._

The images flickered and faded for a few moments as other emotions pelted her, beginning with hope and determination before moving to understanding and joy, and then ending at acceptance and fear. She needed to accept something…but what?

One final image cascaded through her head and was enveloped in that warmth of the planet trying to comfort her, reminding her painfully of when Zack had been that warmth and comfort in her life. She was on a platform in a place she didn't recognize, praying much as she was right now. In front of her walked Cloud as if he was sleepwalking, his face a blank slate. She saw herself smile and close her eyes once more…and then a flash gleamed from above. The image cut off as she _felt_ rather than saw something pierce through her and rip her insides apart, her final view of an unknown white materia falling from somewhere behind her and into the endless pool of water below.

Aerith's eyes flew wide as a scream ripped out her throat, her hands splaying across her chest as she searched for the wound she had just felt stab through her.

There was nothing there, no sign of her own fatality marred against the flesh beneath her breast. Whatever she had seen, it wasn't real…at least not now.

_I'm still in the lifestream_ , she realized.

_I'm alive._

As she tried to quell the hyperventilation in her breath and the tears that seemed determined to fall, the planet's presence against her mind flitted about in a panic as it seemed to ask her what it could do to help. How _could_ it help, when it had just showed Aerith her own _death_? Her legs were trembling and she sank to her knees in the pool of water below her, hand still pressed firmly against her chest as if the hole would rip itself open and swallow her. The planet was frantic as it continued to try and soothe her mind. Aerith thought for a few more moments as she caught her breath, but then her mind flicked back to a memory that soothed her immediately.

"The church," she whispered. It was the one place she could feel warm and safe and close to her mother and the rest of the Cetra. If she closed her eyes, she could see the crepuscular rays of sunlight gleaming through dusty stained glass and spilling soft, golden light against all it brushed against. She deeply inhaled; she could taste the acidic sting of mako against her tongue, could smell the gentle blush of blooming flowers, and could almost hear the faint creaking of the floorboards beneath her feet.

As if wanting nothing more than to please her, the planet made her the church.

Aerith watched the sanctuary she had seen in her mind's eye materialize around her in exact detail, down to every broken pew and each ripped-up floorboard. The endless water underneath her feet turned into wooden planks, and she stretched her hand out as a perfect yellow flower sailed past on its way to its destination. Within moments, the entire room was as if she were truly standing in the sector five slums now, down to the upper plate of Midgar and the unfinished sector six peeking its way through the holes in the roof.

Sighing and shuddering, Aerith sank to her knees, her fingers trailing delicately through the petals spread out before her as she struggled to process the emotions the planet had shared with her. The silence around her was usually a comfort, but being in the church now provided little in the way of solace after what she had seen. What was the planet trying to say? Was that to be her future? Was she meant to travel the world with a rag-tag group including Cloud Strife, only to lead to her own death? What was the materia and why was she carrying it? More importantly, why was the lifestream wanting her to know about it?

As she knelt, her fingers continuing to brush against each flower she could reach, she thought about her current friends. Her first thoughts went to Kunsel. The past few months his friendship had been nothing short of a lifeline; he had been helpful, understanding, kind, protective, and a confidant. Part of Aerith felt bad about dragging him into the mess in Wall Market, if only because of his tendency to worry – for good reason, of course. Surely he would have gotten Tifa and Cloud to safety upon realizing what was in store for sector seven. Maybe he'd even stashed them someplace safe and had already made it back to the Shinra building. _Kunsel is okay_ , she told herself, _because he's resilient_.

Or maybe he was buried under rubble along with the rest of sector seven, and she couldn't admit it because she couldn't stand the thought of losing somebody else after Zack.

While she was pretty certain her SOLDIER friend would be okay, she couldn't say the same for her newest friends and had no idea if they were hurt… or worse. Her thoughts went back to Tifa, the unsure young woman who had eaten chocobo pops and watched Cloud compete in the tournament alongside her. _Tifa_ , who despite everything now felt like a friend she'd had for most of her life, who could now potentially be gone forever.

And then there was Cloud Strife.

Her heart skipped a beat as she pictured his trademark impassive look, which always seemed to be interrupted by something that surprised or confused him. The mask he tried to wear was almost like a physical defense mechanism, and there were parts of it she understood – after all, if Aerith could relate to anything, it was a mask to hide one's true emotions. Of course that wasn't the fairest judgments, considering Aerith herself had been raised to be a people pleaser without any large idea of the world beyond her tower prison. Real-world experience barely existed on her radar.

She didn't think Cloud had passed on, not yet. There was something inside her that believed with everything she had that he would have said goodbye, just like Zack had a few months ago. Despite it only having been a few days since they had met, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was meant to go along with him in whatever journey he was on. It was impossible for her to deny a strange connection she still didn't understand. She felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame, like he held some kind of answer she'd never known she needed. Was it something to do with his blank expression before her death in the vision?

The planet seemed to agree wholeheartedly based on the gentle pressure in her head, and for some reason she pictured its response as Zack bobbing his head up and down fervently. The mental image of him made her smile, and eventually she slowly exhaled and closed her eyes.

_I'm okay,_ she reminded herself.

The sound of light sniffling interrupted her silent lament. Rising to her feet in shock at the sound, Aerith whirled around while wondering who else could possibly in the church with her. The answer that greeted her came from a figure in the back pew, so short that all she saw was a head of familiar blond hair. Her heart skipped again as she realized whom it looked like.

Her feet drawing her toward the other figure, Aerith paused when finally she reached him. The young man certainly looked like Cloud, except smaller, less muscular, and less…driven. He had his knees up to his chest and his head buried in the arms he had wrapped around them.

Aerith went cold. _Did Cloud die in sector seven?_ she asked herself wildly. _Is this his way of bidding farewell?_ Based on the albeit limited experiences she'd had with those passing into the lifestream, she doubted this was the case.

Another sniffle came from somewhere beneath his choppy blond bangs.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, uncertainly.

" _Are you okay?_ " she heard her voice repeat from somewhere else in the church – or was it inside her head? Aerith frowned as she heard the voice say something else. " _Maybe you're not okay…_ "

In front of her, Cloud's head popped up, and his baby blue eyes went wide as he saw her. Instantly he scampered back, as if he was trapped. Almost tripping over his feet, he sprang to them and held up his fists, rubbing his eyes quickly. "Who are you? Where am I?" he demanded in a quaking voice, in a way that reminded her all-too-well of her own verbal attempts to stand up to her guardian. His face was a little rounder than she knew, and his face held none of the stubbornness or anger that she was familiar with.

" _An old church in the sector five slums_ ," her voice answered from somewhere around her again. Lips parted in confusion, Aerith looked about herself as she tried to find the source of her other voice. When she didn't see anything, she realized that Cloud was still eyeing her suspiciously.

_He didn't hear anything,_ she realized, and then asked aloud, "You don't know me?" She smiled and held her hands up in a sign of peace. "I'm Aerith, remember?"

He shook his head furiously, rubbing his eyes again as he seemed to get his bearings. When their gazes met again, Aerith noted the distinct lack of mako glow usually intertwined with his blue irises. In addition, he looked to be wearing a standard trooper uniform, not the older SOLDIER clothing he wore in her time. While this could only be him, maybe this wasn't _her_ Cloud… at least, not yet.

He muttered something under his breath while shaking his head again.

She tried a different approach, a riskier one that hadn't seemed to help his waking, older counterpart but may provide answers here. "You're friends with Zack, right?" she questioned conversationally as she sank into the pew spot he had just vacated to alleviate her still-shaking legs. "I'm friends with him too!"

Cloud tilted his head for a moment, his tense posture slowly relaxing. Then he nodded as he slowly sat back down, as far away in the same pew from her as he could get. Aerith looked forward at the rest of the church, taking in its familiarity and allowing that to help keep her grounded. This may all just be in her head, or she may be actually sitting with a younger Cloud Strife – who was friends with Zack – in the imagined halls of a church in the lifestream, right after finding out he was going to be there when she died a horrific death. She didn't know _what_ to believe.

"How do you know Zack?" Cloud stubbornly asked, still sounding untrusting.

Aerith sighed. "We were friends long ago," she explained. "He was assigned to be my bodyguard to visit this very church. And then…well, we kinda went a little further."

"You're his girlfriend?"

She eyed him and winked. "I was," she responded, ignoring the pang of sadness that came from her chest when she corrected his tense. "That was a long time ago for me."

Cloud thought for a few quiet moments and then stood once more. He began to walk towards the enticing aroma of the flowers. Aerith watched him as she heard that other strange voice yet again, " _Fell right into my flower bed, lucky for you_."

Her other voice was polite and bordering on happy, but that didn't stop her from being slightly alarmed that she could hear it anyway. She recalled that warm, content feeling she'd identified as love from what the planet tried to show her and tried to piece it together with the disembodied voice. Perhaps they matched?

"Why were you crying?" she asked instead of dwelling on it.

Cloud didn't answer. His eyes were doing a careful study of the large sanctuary they were in. He stared at the columns supporting the grand ceiling, and then he looked through the windows. Finally, he looked down at the flowers in front of his feet. Aerith, deciding to join him, stood back up and silently approached.

"I've been alone…" Cloud murmured as she got closer. "I've been alone for a long time. It's always been a white room until now. Where are we?"

"That depends on where you are," she supplied instantly as she knelt down again. "See…for me, this is my imagination in the lifestream. Why are you in the lifestream, Cloud?"

Cloud looked at her in shock, his short stature and young face a fixation for her curiosity. "The…lifestream? What do you mean? Am I…" He gulped. "Am I dead?"

Aerith stroked the petals of a yellow flower in front of her, allowing its scent to fill her nostrils and calm her down. Luckily, it seemed like the voice in her head was choosing to be silent now.

"No, I don't think you are," she finally replied as she settled down and patted the floorboards next to her. It took a few seconds, which had her reminiscing on their first encounter on the night of Rufus's birthday party, but then the younger Cloud noisily plopped down beside her.

She took a few moments to appreciate the church as she remembered it. Clasping her hands and bowing her head, Aerith prayed for the multitude of lives that had freshly returned to the planet. She prayed for strength to face whatever she was dealing with back in the real world. She prayed for her friends. And most of all, she prayed for the Cloud next to her.

"She doesn't want me here," Cloud muttered.

Cracking an eyelid open, she peered over at his hunched-over figure. "Who doesn't want you here?"

"…Mother," he whispered.

For the simplicity of the word, it sent an unpleasant flash of anger through the lifestream. In her mind's image of the planet that kept showing her the face of the man she'd lost, she could imagine Zack recoiling. "Your…mother?" she repeated softly with an inquiring look.

"No." He shook his head quickly. "My mother was an amazing person. I think…I think she's here now." Gesturing around them, it took her a moment to understand that he meant the lifestream.

"I'm sorry," she told him gently while carefully placing a hand on his. "What happened?"

Cloud frowned, deep in thought. "I remember…Nibelheim," he gasped with a deep shudder. "My – my hometown. He…he burned it down. He killed my m-mother. He killed my friends."

The sheer upset and panic that was rolling off him in waves was enough for Aerith to move closer while trying not to startle him but also try and offer him comfort. She was keenly aware of the pronouns he was using – who was _he_? – but she wasn't sure if she should push further.

"I'm sorry," she said gently, squeezing his hand. "It's over now. I promise. You're in Midgar now, and you have friends."

Cloud sniffled and stared at her. "Like you?" he asked.

"Like me," she promised with a smile. "I'll be your friend."

He seemed to relax a bit more at those words, although the frown never left his face. As he stared ahead towards the flowers in apparent thought, Aerith took a moment to steady her own thoughts and check off what she knew. First of all, while this was Cloud Strife, it was a younger version of him. His wounds were fresh, and he hadn't had enough time to stew in his internal self to become the man she knew now. He was maybe in his mid-teens, and there was a wariness about him that she assumed stemmed from this "mother" he had referenced. As if wanting her to arrive to the same conclusion, the lifestream reminded her of those two poisonous words:

_Jenova._

_Calamity._

"Hey Cloud…" she began as she followed his gaze to the flowers. "Who is this 'mother' you mentioned?"

His face scrunched up, twisting in momentary pain. His hand underneath hers clenched into a fist. "I…I don't know," he answered hoarsely after a few tense moments, his eyes squeezed shut. "She won't leave me alone. She's always here and she's always saying things…"

"Like what?" Aerith pressed. The lifestream was a blanket of wariness as it waited with her to learn more.

But Cloud shook his head and opened his eyes, his gaze pleading. "I can't, I – I don't know."

He looked so lost, so _small_ compared to the Cloud she knew. His eyes were tearing up a little and her heart went out to him. Before she could stop herself, Aerith reached around and pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around the teen and trying to will comfort through the embrace. While Cloud was stiff at first – now _that_ was more like the Cloud she knew – he gradually relaxed and rested his head against the crook of her neck.

There was a tugging sensation at the back of her mind. "Cloud…" she said softly with her arms still around him. "I think it's time for me to go."

Cloud hugged her tight for one more long moment before pulling away and wiping his eyes. "I think I remember you now," he told her. "Sometimes I can see things, sometimes I can sense things. I just don't know what's happening. Who's – who's running the show, you know?"

"I'll get to the bottom of it," she promised him with a quick, final smile. The tugging was getting stronger, and she felt her grasp on the lifestream slip away. "I'll talk to you soon, Cloud."

The last image she had was of him curling his knees back into his chest and wrapping his arms around them, his eyes now filled with a new brimming hope.

* * *

_Cloud_

"Come _on_!" Cloud shouted in rage and punched the solid metal door with his fist, but only succeeded in making his knuckles hurt. He grimaced as he shook out the temporary pain and resumed his pacing in the small cell. His gaze shifted over to Aerith's still form on the bed in the far corner, and he was satisfied to see her chest rise and fall in a rhythm that was growing all too familiar to him.

_They hurt her._ The thought cut through his mind as sharply as a blade, and he instinctively reached for his sword as the desire to hit something in his anger flared up… but of course, they had taken that and Aerith's bag from him too. Now he was left with no way of defending Aerith when the need arose, no way of defending _himself_ for that matter, and as he was trapped in this cell, he also had no way of finding out whether any of his friends in the sector seven slums had survived the plate falling.

Shooting a glare towards the security camera in the corner, he debated for one wicked moment on sabotaging it. _That'll show them_ , he thought savagely as his hands balled up into fists. Then, glancing back at Aerith's still form, he heaved out a sigh and crossed the small room instead, letting his legs slide beneath him till he was sitting on the floor next to her and using the bed as a support for his back.

"Why am I never strong enough?" he growled into the empty air, hating the useless feeling that washed over him. He could remember enough to know he'd failed more times than he could count in his life. First, there was the time back when he had been a child, and he hadn't been fast or strong enough to save Tifa from the fall. Sure, he'd fallen too, but if he had just been _fast enough…_

Next, of course, there was the time he'd been too weak to save his mom. The sting of anger burned over the sorrow that leapt into the back of his throat, and his mouth went dry as he remembered the entrancing heat of flames licking up at the buildings he'd known his entire life... at the _people_ he'd known his entire life. How easily his mom's bright light was snuffed out in the glint of cold steel. He could still hear her scream, could see the flames dancing across the dirt, could -

He bit his lip and pushed the memory aside in a desperate bid to not feel vulnerable when it was his mission to protect Aerith. Then again, he'd basically failed _all_ his missions surrounding the president's ward. He glanced over his shoulder to stare at her peaceful face, noticing the lack of emotion anywhere in her slumber. He had only been awake for an hour since he had been drugged, and wasn't sure how long they had been trapped in the cell. Thankfully, nobody had tried to bother them yet. While he was useless compared to Tifa when it came to hand-to-hand combat, he knew he'd do what he needed to in order to keep the sleeping woman safe.

But then there was one other thing to consider: the gaping hole in his memory, and the faint inkling that maybe he hadn't made it to SOLDIER after all. It was strange, as he had all of the necessary enhancements , equipment, and experience… but none of the memories that went with it. Who had been on his team in SOLDIER? Who had been his mentor? Who had been his coworkers? All he drew were blanks.

"I'm a failure," he muttered into the silent air next to her face. "I can't get anything right, not even things that should be easy."

Aerith remained peaceful and oblivious to his words.

Cloud thought for a long moment before continuing, "I just don't understand why I can't do _enough_." His mother's still face pierced through his memory once again, and he shoved it back down before the watering at the corners of his eyes threatened to spill over. He wasn't a kid anymore, and emotions were for the weak, a word he was doing everything in his power to _not_ be defined as.

And yet he couldn't stop himself from adding, "I mean, I'm not sure what I was even doing at the party, the one way back when." Words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop him, and while his mind pointed out that this was _very_ uncharacteristic of him, a small voice in the back of his mind disagreed. "My mission was to help Tifa, sure, but was that what she had meant when I promised all those years ago to be there for her? What was I _thinking?"_

His gaze dropped to his hands, which were lightly curled in his lap. "And then I saw you and you were miserable. You weren't… who we all thought you would be, being Shinra's ward and all, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt you. Not when you looked so sad and...familiar, somehow." The glittering emerald of her eyes flashed into his mind again, and for the umpteenth time he tried to figure out where he'd seen that color before. It was to no avail.

"I'm sorry," he said instead. "I'm sorry for failing you, and for putting you in this mess. I'm sorry for breaking your trust. I mean," he added with a humorless, bitter chuckle, "I can't even take care of _myself_ , not when I keep blacking out for no reason or getting caught."

He pulled his knees closer against him and dipped his temple against them, and let the crippling weight of failure and guilt settle down on his shoulders. Behind him, Aerith continued to breathe deeply, gently, and Cloud used that as a tether to calm himself down. He wouldn't be any use to her if he was focused on his own issues. His mess would have to be dealt with another time.

As he squeezed his eyes shut, Cloud thought he felt that sickening familiar set of eyes watching him.

"Go _away_ ," he hissed without opening them.

A light chuckle permeated the air and stifled his breath. " _Were it so simple,_ _Cloud_ ," came the slithering reply. Cloud groaned and pressed his hands against his ears as a headache began to lightly drum its way to existence.

Yet even despite his efforts, Sephiroth's voice continued to ring clearly in his mind. " _She's so peaceful,"_ he said, and then: _"This is what she will look like when she's dead._ "

Cloud's eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly for the source of the voice. Of course, Sephiroth was just in his head. He shifted so that he could face Aerith entirely, and her chest thankfully continued to lightly rise and fall. Even so, Sephiroth's words sent an icy chill into his heart and the very thought of _Aerith dead_ permeated the anger inside him. He reached out instinctively to grab her hand for reassurance that she was still very much alive.

Her hand was cool in his, and as he watched her face earnestly, Cloud noted that she was sleeping far more deeply than he had thought. She was laying on her side, still in that stunning red dress from earlier, although it looked worse for wear now: the seam had popped on the side and revealed the slightest bit of milky white skin beneath. Feeling a flush come over his face, Cloud moved onto her hands. Her arms were curled against her chest, her fingers intertwined as though she were deep in prayer. Light goosebumps pricked her skin, and it was only at that moment that he realized the room they were in was a little cool. He glanced around quickly to see if there was something to help, and then he spied the set of folded clothes left at the end of the bed behind her feet. He reached over the ruffles of her dress to pick them up and take a closer look at what was there.

The first article of clothing was a simple white shirt. It was small and had short sleeves, which wouldn't help the predicament. Underneath that was an equally white pair of pants, that while feeling comfortable wouldn't help her arms. Finally, the last item in the pile was a thin, gray blanket. It felt scratchy and not at all warm, but it would have to do. Very carefully so as not to wake her, he turned onto his knees, unfolded the blanket, and gently set it over her resting form. He tucked the blanket just under her chin, and before he could stop himself he was brushing a stray messy curl away from her closed eyes, tucking it behind her ear to study her face better.

In the hours that had transpired since she'd first gotten into her current getup, Aerith's makeup had begun to wear off. Soft, dark tracks led down her eyes as if she'd been crying. Skin-colored makeup he had no name for was fading and light freckles were peeking out on her cheeks. Her lips, which were once painted red, were now a familiar, soft pink. His hand lingered next to her face as he stared, transfixed. Even now, there was a beauty about her that seemed surreal, _ethereal._

Cloud exhaled and drew his hand away in shame as his heart stuttered. This wasn't like him, letting his guard down so easily around others… even if they _were_ fast asleep. The problem with Aerith was she'd always made it so easy. Her personality had gently teased his fortified walls to fall with the way she amicably conversed, the way she seemed genuinely interested in stupid things like whether he drank coffee and where he came from, and the way she had tried to help him escape from Don Corneo not once but _twice._ She had risked her own life – a life living under the watchful eye of the emperor of Mako energy himself – to help _him_ , an ex-SOLDIER nobody with a shaky past not even he knew about.

With the track record so freshly laid behind him, how could anybody, especially Aerith, see him as anything more than the failure he was?

Instead, he turned back around – noticing the feeling of being watched by Sephiroth was gone and there was no sign of him in the room – and resumed facing away from her on the floor, bringing a knee up and resting his chin against his palm. His heart twinged painfully as he tried to force it to shut up. Now wasn't the time for silly kids' crushes, because the gods knew he'd already had his fair share. His entire childhood had centered around impressing Tifa, at least until the fateful day when her dad banned him from speaking to her. Then he was forced to watch from the sidelines as the rest of the guys in Nibelheim fawned over her. Sure, he felt some redemption from his being there for her five years ago before confronting Sephiroth, which wasn't a subject he'd brought up to her just yet, but there was no denying the truth: his first childhood crush had been an absolute catastrophe, and with how things were going now, it wasn't time for another one.

That didn't stop his heart from leaping into his throat in excitement – _ridiculous,_ he chided himself – as he heard shifting on the bed behind him. Her heartbeat, a faint reassurance to his sensitive hearing, picked up a bit as she woke. The room was silent for a few moments as he hoped she didn't have as good of hearing as he did, because his heart was racing in anticipation of what she would say.

"Heya," Aerith finally murmured.

Making a big show as if he hadn't known she was awake, Cloud tilted his head ever-so-slightly to meet her gaze in his peripherals and nodded once. "Hey." He was curious why she wasn't surprised to see him or see where she was, but he didn't press the subject.

"Are…Kunsel and Tifa…" she started quietly, seemingly unable to finish the train of thought out loud.

Cloud sighed and hoisted himself to his feet, stretching his arms above him before crossing them. "I don't know," he admitted while looking down. "I couldn't reach them."

"Oh… Well at least you're here. You're okay," she stated and smiled at him. "I'm glad."

He turned around and nodded again as he forced the flush creeping up his neck back down. "Yeah," he agreed but not at all feeling like he was okay. "I'm here."

"How did that happen, anyway?" The little tilt of her head caused that curl he'd tucked behind her ear to swing forward again. She was glancing around them now and spotted the unfolded clothes from where he'd left them crumpled on the floor. "Oh! Are those for me? Anything to get out of this dreadful dress," she complained with a small smile. As he watched, she stood and set the blanket that was over her gently onto the bed. Her head tilted more and her smile grew in understanding. Cloud looked away, deciding his ridiculous emotions would be better used in glowering at the security camera again.

There was a soft clearing of a throat behind him. He turned back around to see Aerith's apologetic face a lot closer than it was before.

"Um," she said with slightly pink cheeks, "will you unzip me? I can't reach."

She turned around before he could say no and swung her hair over her shoulder to show him the zipper in question. Cloud's face was probably properly red now, but she had asked him for help and he knew it was in his best interest to assist her. He reached forward with shaking hands and braced the left one underneath while the right took hold of the zipper and started tugging it downwards. His mind was going crazy as he debated the right place to stop – at what point could she reach? After the zipper was resting on her lower back, he drew his hands away quickly and turned away to give her privacy.

"Thank you," he heard her say gently before she moved to the small bathroom in the front corner of the room. Cloud chose to remain silent as he tried to reign in his rapid heartbeat over the sounds of her dress falling to the floor.

After a few more moments, Aerith finally addressed the subject he'd been waiting for her to ask about.

"How did you end up here then?" she asked conversationally.

Cloud coughed once and sank onto the bed as he waited for her to reappear, answering simply, "I came after you."

She peeked her head back out with surprise and gratefulness. "You came after me?"

"O-of course."

She disappeared again and he heard the sounds of metal being moved, a low thud, and some light cursing that surprised him – Aerith _swore_? Curiosity getting the better of him, Cloud made to stand up to go inspect what the hell she was doing.

"Stay there," Aerith instructed quickly from the bathroom. "Just give me a couple – more – seconds…. _Aha_!"

If the room had noises besides them, he may not have noticed the light whirring from the streaming security camera stop.

"What the hell did you do?" he asked as he warily eyed the no-longer-blinking camera in the corner. It was effectively dead.

Laughter ricocheted off the empty room. "Just a little trick I picked up from my visits here," she responded easily. "You can get up now, by the way."

Cloud did just that and he quickly made his way into the bathroom to see a side panel of the outside wall pulled off and in front of Aerith was a mess of colorful wires. She looked up from under a curtain of hair and offered him a quick thumb's up and grin.

"I've been in Hojo's labs way too many times," she explained as she eyed a blue wire and inspected it for a few moments before glancing beyond him to the door. "I had a lot of time to myself, so I taught myself how to mess with the room. That's the third time I've cut the camera feed, and this…" she paused for dramatic effect as she bent the wire in two and placed an old nail she got from who-knew-where between them, "this will be my second time breaking out."

Cloud wasn't going to lie now; he was in awe. For a woman trapped in the Shinra tower her whole life, she had picked up some useful skills that were coming in handy now. "This is a bit of a circle we're in," he told her. "You save me, I save you, and now you're saving both of us. Round and round it goes…"

She giggled a bit at his words before preparing to sever the wire. Cloud glanced back at the door in amazement as he heard it slide open.

"That's incredible," he said honestly as he turned back to her. And then he realized that she was staring at him, expression morphing into horror, with the wire in her hands still connected.

Heavy footsteps permeated the room and Cloud whirled around to face the newcomer, his body blocking Aerith from view. Just for extra measure this time, he held a hand out to stop her from trying to move forward like she did back in Wall Market.

"Well, isn't this a nice catch," Rufus Shinra said.


	13. Just the Two of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe we only have 1 more chapter and an epilogue to round off this story? My eventual goal is to make this a short series, where this one was the closest to the OG but the rest we can do a lot more with. While this romance has been slow getting off the ground, I'm going to make sure we end with some proper fluff. It's what you guys deserve for sticking it out so long with me! Without further ado...

_Aerith_

Aerith's fingers, trembling at the drastic turn of events, dropped both the wire and the nail; the former drifted down soundlessly back into its cavity while the latter clattered to the tile floor in an obvious, noticeable _ping._

The door remained partially open behind Rufus, and through the growing numbness that fought to protect her frail psyche, she observed his heel keeping it from sliding closed. This action reminded her that despite his apparent 'kindness' – she took that word with a grain of salt because Rufus _always_ had ulterior motives – he would always put his interests first and foremost in his life. If keeping her alive and safe was in his best interests, he would do it. If she didn't matter to him, he wouldn't give her the time of day.

"This is a nice catch," Rufus introduced dryly. She couldn't see his expression from where she was standing, mostly because Cloud was suddenly using his body as a shield in front of her. He and Cloud were barely six feet apart.

Aerith peeked around Cloud's legs from her position kneeling on the floor to glance up at him. "Hey, Rufus," she greeted.

Rufus nodded back tersely, his eyes barely flickering from Cloud's face to acknowledge her.

"And I suppose you're the one causing all the problems," he said to Cloud. His tone was indifferent, as if he didn't care in the slightest.

Cloud's back tensed slightly. "What's it to you?" he shot back.

"You're with Avalanche? You're not a SOLDIER, this much we know."

Aerith watched Cloud carefully to see if he would have a reaction to these words, but he didn't show any indication the statement had affected him. " _Ex_ -SOLDIER. I quit," he explained. She could almost hear the smirk on his face.

Rufus's eyebrow quirked up a fraction, pressing, "As for Avalanche…?"

"Maybe." Cloud shrugged. "I'm a mercenary. People hire me to do work. I don't care who I work for, as long as I get paid."

That answer seemed to satisfy Rufus for the time being, and he nodded while flexing the fingers on his right side – by where he kept his gun, Aerith remembered. This made her stand up quickly and lean around Cloud's shoulder; it wasn't until now that she realized the man she'd been fraternizing with was around her own height, which was rather short for a SOLDIER. This information fed further into the theories she had been formulating in the few minutes since her time in the lifestream with a younger Cloud.

"What are you doing here, Rufus?" she asked. She hated that she couldn't stop the nervous quaking in her voice.

He finally turned his gaze onto her and gave her an annoyed glance. "I'm here for _you_ , of course. If you had stayed put and trusted me, all of this would have been much easier. Instead, I had to use my influence and present distractions in the building to empty this laboratory under the pretense of a bomb threat. Now come, Aerith. We have a meeting with my father."

"No," Aerith answered, and the finality of the word almost scared her. Ignoring the chill that ran down her spine, she knew it was time to stop being afraid, time to stop letting Shinras order her around and dictate what she did with her life.

Rufus looked momentarily shocked. Even Cloud turned his head towards her, lips pursed as if he was stopping himself from interjecting his opinion.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Rufus snapped. "I told you I would help you be free from my father if you helped me. You helped me, and this is me returning the favor."

She shook her head, repeating her stance, "No, Rufus, I'm not going with you. I don't want to stay here. I want to leave Midgar and never come back. Cloud promised to help me."

The exasperated groan out of Rufus's lips was surprising, but not unexpected. "Aerith, Avalanche has infiltrated the tower. My father is cornered in his office. I'm going to _finish the job._ "

_The_ … _job_? Aerith tilted her head in momentary confusion, but then her eyes flew wide when she realized:

"Are you going to kill him?" Her heart rate quickened. "Rufus... are you going to kill your father?"

"It's the next logical step," he stated, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Avalanche has cleared the path for my ascension. Do you wish to be free of him or not?"

"Aerith," Cloud finally said as he still watched her, "Rufus is right about Avalanche. At least, if it's been a day since we got here. Avalanche was planning a coup."

His eyes were honest and open as she met them with her own. He spoke the truth, and she knew she trusted Cloud over Rufus.

"What is your plan then?" she asked the older man. "What do you want with me?"

The corner of Rufus's mouth twitched. "Once my father is dispatched, you're welcome to stay by my side here," he said. "You would be safe from Professor Hojo and would have autonomy to do whatever you wish, as long as you continue to be a positive face for the company. I've seen what you want, Aerith," he added, more insistent now. "You want to be free to live a life of your own choosing. I can give you all of that and more – whatever you would like – if you take on this role."

A week ago, what Rufus was proposing would have been as close to a perfect life as Aerith could have imagined. The idea of keeping a life with Shinra but never having to feel trapped would have been a dream. Even now, it was a tempting offer, and there was a small part of her that wanted to accept without a second thought.

But there were her newer experiences, the recent travel and dreams and companionship that she never had since Zack left. Even Kunsel, a Shinra SOLDIER, had promised her he would take her wherever she wanted to go across the planet, just as soon as they figured out Zack's fate and she was no longer needed by Shinra. Sitting on the back of that motorbike what seemed like forever ago had been her first taste of freedom. To feel the wind whipping through her hair and caressing her face in a biting chill made her feel _alive_ in a way she never had felt before.

And then there was Cloud's earnest offer, his genuine interest in her wellbeing since almost the moment they had met. He made her feel safe when they were together, and he had been more than sincere when he told the Turks that he only ever wanted was to protect her. She thought of him in the coffee shop, so confused and disgusted by his mocha, and the way his eyes lit up when she told him her name on the Shinra balcony.

Those memories weighed heavily on her mind as she stood behind his shoulder, close enough to smell hints of leather and sharpness of Mako underneath a pleasant earthy scent. Her memory flashed back to the younger version of the man in the church pew, legs drawn to his chest as he let out tears. She had made a promise to figure out how this teenaged Cloud was connected to the man she knew, and she couldn't let that memory – nor her flashes of a life she hadn't lived and died from – go so easily. Not to mention the small bubble of warmth that enveloped her chest at being within his proximity, something that she was finally choosing to no longer ignore. The truth was, she wanted to be with him. She _liked_ him.

"Thank you, Rufus," Aerith replied finally while slipping her hands behind her back and casting her gaze downward. "I appreciate your offer, but I have other obligations now. I want to go with Cloud."

Before Rufus could speak on the growing annoyance that flitted across his face, the lights in the lab went out. They were replaced barely a moment later by the bright flashing of red lights and the blaring of an alarm. Behind Rufus's heel, the door began to slide closed.

"Shit," Cloud swore. "We need to get out of here _now._ "

Brushing the momentary irritation from his features, Rufus nodded once while gripping the now-obvious handle of his sawed-off shotgun. "Follow me," he instructed firmly before he darted on the other side of the door. Cloud reached down next to Aerith and grabbed her hand, then hauled her out of their prison and into the hallway. Behind her, the door slid shut with a slow, final thud.

Aerith recognized the hallway because of her years of being marched down these halls. Even in an obvious lockdown mode accompanied by startling red lights and loud noises, the unimpressionable gray and metalwork was easy to spot. She had been across the hall from her own art room, and she glanced quickly at the door as she was whisked away.

"Is this Avalanche?" Cloud asked Rufus. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the ruckus.

Rufus shrugged his shoulders and let his gun lead the way around a corner. "Couldn't say," he responded. "They've been wreaking havoc up and down the building."

It took a few moments for Aerith to realize the problem. "Um…guys?" she spoke up. "We're going the wrong way."

An instant later, they reached the edge of the hallway and the entrance to a wide, empty room. A set of stairs lay in front of them, beckoning them further into the lab. Aerith was acutely aware that her hand was still encased in Cloud's, and her heart did a small leap for joy when he didn't make to let go quickly as he had done at previous close contact.

"Are you sure?" Rufus asked with a frown. "Didn't I just come from this way?"

Cloud studied the room beyond. "This doesn't look like the entrance to the labs," he agreed slowly. His gaze shifted up towards some kind of viewing platform that jutted out from the wall. "What… What is this place?"

"I don't know," Aerith admitted. "I was usually housed in my room back there. I didn't make it past here when I visited."

Rufus swept his gaze across the room. "I… also have no idea," he added suspiciously. "My father was always more… _lenient_ with the science department. As long as Hojo and his subordinate scientists gave results, he didn't care what they did with the place. I can now see that was a potentially miscalculation on my father's part," he finished as he studied the far end of the room where a large cylindrical cage sat, empty and gleaming. There was something about the cage that sent shivers down Aerith's spine. She retreated into the back recesses of her mind for the slightest moment to try and figure out why it bothered her, but then realized it wasn't _her_ that recognized it, but it was a small, sentient fragment of the lifestream that was watching.

She gasped without realizing it.

The other two turned towards her. "Aerith? Are you okay?" Cloud asked in concern.

While she had occasionally felt the presence of souls departing to the promised land, she had never experienced this soft, constant warmth of the lifestream. _How could I have not noticed until now?_ she wondered, because now that she was aware of it, her connection to the planet was just so obviously _there_. In a moment of hesitancy at being discovered, the lifestream sent a gentle nudge into her consciousness. Her mind translated this as the amazing image of Zack nudging her shoulder and waving.

"I…I think so," she replied thoughtfully as she pulled her hand from Cloud's comforting grasp. Stepping into the large room, she let her feet lead her down the stairs and towards the cage without thinking. Something needed to happen here…something she couldn't remember. The memory was just out of reach, but she _knew_ the cage needed to be open. Once she reached it, she tilted her head for a moment and studied the numerical lock. There was no way she could pick it open.

"Can one of you open this?" she asked.

Rufus stepped forward and stood at her shoulder as he, too, studied the lock. "I believe I can," he replied. "But there is nothing inside. Why do you need this open?"

"I…I don't know how to explain it," she admitted sheepishly. "This door just _needs_ to be open."

While Rufus set about equipping the right materia, Aerith turned back to look at Cloud, who was…nowhere to be seen. For the smallest moment her heart jolted in shock and fear, and then she spotted him on the other side of the room. He was walking up a second set of metal stairs that led to the viewing platform.

"Cloud?" she called as she felt, rather than heard, the crackle of ozone in the air as lightning zapped the lock cleanly open. "Cloud, where are you going?"

The blond man didn't answer; he didn't even acknowledge that she had spoken. He walked like a man possessed, legs lurching forward clumsily as he kept a hand pressed against his temple, with his fingers curling into his hair. Aerith left Rufus and the cage, all previous strange thoughts dumped aside for the clear issue at hand:

Something was wrong with Cloud.

Rufus glanced towards her. "Aerith, _wait_ –" he began, but he went ignored as she took off in her bare feet across the metal platform. She pretended not to notice the way the grooves dug into her heels as she ran, nor did she acknowledge the icy sting of cold metal beneath her feet. Cloud wasn't moving quickly, but he had reached the inside of the platform by the time she caught up to him.

Tugging on his arm, Aerith tried to get him to stop what he was doing. "Cloud? Cloud, can you hear me? What's going on? Are you okay?"

Unfocused bright green eyes kept facing forwards, brow furrowed in confusion as he stared unseeingly at the route in front of him. Her tugging seemed to have no effect, and he slipped effortlessly out of her grasp. His pale lips parted and he struggled to speak the word they repeated silently, over and over.

" _Mo…ther…_ "

Aerith's blood ran cold while the lifestream inside her mind recoiled as if it had been struck. She clutched his arm again and, feeling a surge of energy overtake her, she was able to pull him off his current trajectory. Throwing herself in front of Cloud's unseen destination, she grasped his face between her hands and searched his eyes for a sense of familiarity.

"Cloud? Snap out of it, please," she pleaded. "Come back to me."

His sightless gaze blinked a few times and sharp green began to slowly dull until baby blue was once again visible. After a few more seconds, his brow furrowed beneath her hands while his eyes filled with a kind of childlike confusion that reminded her more than ever of the young teen she'd just met.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes darting around to the unfamiliar surroundings. "What happened?"

Aerith sighed in relief. "I don't know," she answered gently. "You were walking this way and wouldn't answer me. Are you okay?"

He nodded, albeit a little shakily, and his gaze focused behind her down the long hallway that pressed ominously against her back. Shooting a nervous glance towards that direction, she shook her head. "We are _not_ going that way. Let's go back the way we were supposed to." She dropped her hands from his face and slipped her hand into his before gently tugging him away. As they turned around to head back, she caught the slight glint of steel – _Cloud's sword!_ – and she smiled at him while pointing. Behind the weapon was a stack of materia and a wonderfully familiar staff, left haphazardly as if discarded in a hurry.

As Cloud stashed his PHS and they were equipping materia onto their weapons, something caught Aerith's attention. Tucked away on the corner of the desk was something small and glowing. Curiosity getting the better of her, she moved forward to lift a small cloth from the object. What laid beneath was straight out of her visions from earlier with the lifestream – a small, white materia that matched exactly the one that had fallen into the pool of water. That familiar presence in the back of her mind reached out insistently – she _needed_ to take this materia. Carefully, she used the cloth to pick it up and stuff it into the pocket of her lab-issued white pants.

It was at that moment something caught Cloud's attention. He was instantly alert, his head snapping to the doorway a split second before Aerith heard a loud grunt and a clambering against metal. They spared a moment's glance before taking off after the noise.

The sight that greeted them outside the viewing platform was one that had Aerith completely confused and also, strangely enough, understanding. Rufus was on the floor, his back pressed against the metal grate as he struggled against the weight of a massive animal with auburn fur and a flaming tail. The very sight of such a creature had her grinding to a halt, once again abusing the soft soles of her feet against the textured grate of the same metal, but there was a pressure of relief that slid into her mind from the lifestream. The image of Zack heaved a sigh and gave a thumb's up.

_Friend_ , the lifestream insisted.

It didn't quite look like that was the case just yet, but she knew she could trust that planet, so she reached out and grabbed Cloud's arm just as he was about to draw his sword.

"Wait," she insisted before pushing herself in front of him and leading the way. Her feet were really beginning to feel tender, but she pushed through the discomfort until she was standing right in front of the scene. Cloud's footsteps echoed tentatively behind her, and she could feel his presence just behind her left elbow.

Rufus wasn't struggling anymore, which seemed to have something to do with his saving face. Instead, he was glowering up at the creature on top of him while his hand twitched just out of reach of his sawed-off shotgun. Aerith took a final step forward and raised her arms hesitantly, the lifestream guiding her with mental nudges and key words.

"Heya," she greeted the new creature with a small smile. "I'm Aerith. Were you trapped here too?"

The animal made a show of baring its teeth at her while wild ochre eyes slid across her form. Rufus twitched a bit and the animal snarled in the man's face.

"Stop, wait!" she tried again. "I'm a friend, I promise. I…I know you, or at least the planet is telling me I know you. Can I show you?"

Eyeing her distrustfully, the creature stared for a solid ten seconds before ever-so-slightly inclining its head. Reaching forward carefully at the direction of the planet, she let her trembling hand press against the fur of his head and encouraged the warmth of the lifestream to flow through her fingers and into the creature before her. As she did so, another word supplied itself from the interaction.

_Nanaki._

After a few moments of sharing her connection with the lifestream, Aerith removed her hand and returned it to clasp her other in front of her body. The creature in front of her visibly relaxed and stepped off Rufus, who returned to his feet with as much grace and poise as he could muster.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded. "What are you?"

Aerith continued to smile at the creature – Nanaki. "You're free now," she told him.

The creature bowed his head and sat on his haunches. "I owe you a debt for freeing me," he spoke plainly in a low, growly voice befitting such a creature.

There was a moment of silence before she heard Cloud's audible shock. "You…you can talk?" he asked hoarsely.

Nanaki nodded, answering, "That I can."

"Not to bring this introduction short, but we must go now," Rufus intervened before the conversation could go further. This elicited a growl from the creature.

"I owe a debt to Aerith," he repeated. "I will go where she goes."

Rufus looked from the creature to her and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then by all means, _tag along,_ " he sighed before he turned around. "I have business with my father that cannot wait any longer."

He began stalking away, but not before shooting a final glare towards them. As Aerith began to follow, her poor decisions finally caught up with her and she hissed as her foot took the brunt of her weight on the metal below.

Cloud was at her side again in an instant. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

She looked down to her feet and was horrified to see there was _blood_ on the floor. She laughed nervously and replied, "Nothing, it's just not the best flooring for bare feet."

"That isn't nothing." His statement was matter-of-fact and he stared at her feet for a few silent moments. Then he slung his sword back over his shoulder and, before she knew what was happening, he had moved forward and picked her up, bridal style.

She couldn't help the squeal of surprise and sudden intimacy that she found herself in. Cloud, whose face was suddenly much closer, had one hand positioned under her legs and the other at her lower back. He was determinedly not looking at her as he began walking forward.

"There's no reason to injure yourself," he told her simply while keeping his gaze on Rufus's retreating back. "We need to find you some proper shoes."

She hid her expression in the crook of his neck as she felt her face warm. Her thoughts drifted to her room and the piles of comfortable shoes that waited patiently for her to return. Opening her eyes, she saw Nanaki padding quietly after them.

"I have shoes in my room," she offered quietly through a curtain of hair and embarrassment. "If we're following Rufus to the President's office, my room isn't too far out of the way. It's just back down a few levels."

Aerith felt rather than saw Cloud nod. "Just point the way," he instructed.

The odd group made their way back to the entrance of Hojo's labs, thankfully not running into anyone as the alarm continued to blare in the distance. Aerith had shaken off her embarrassment to notice the metal stick that was wedged into the door that Rufus began trying to pry open. _Is that Reno's mag rod?_ she wondered internally. Her question was rewarded a second later by the redheaded owner himself appearing on the opposite side of the door to give a hand. Cloud's grip on Aerith tightened noticeably, and she herself wasn't too happy to see such an unwelcome familiar face so soon.

"What took you so long, boss?" Reno asked conversationally after they'd managed to pry the door open enough to let the vice president of Shinra through first. "Didja get in a…what the _hell_ is _that_?"

Nanaki paid the Turk no attention as he followed Cloud and Aerith through the portal and back into the rest of the conference floor of the building. Aerith shot a glare at Reno as he stood there, jaw dropped and dumbstruck, at the sight. In a renewed act of childishness, she stuck her tongue out at him. She thought she caught Rude next to him smirking as they all departed from the labs she hoped she'd never have to see again.

For there being blaring sirens somewhere down below them, the floor they were on was surprisingly quiet. Rufus led the way to the executive elevator, followed by Cloud – who refused to put Aerith down even though her feet were fine, she tried to reason – and Nanaki, all flanked by Reno and Rude.

Rufus pushed the elevator button and crossed his arms before looking back at the Turks. "Tseng is still in my father's office?" he asked coolly.

"Yup, boss. He's keeping an eye on things," Reno answered immediately with a grin. Rude made a _hmph_ noise and nodded his affirmation.

The doors swung open and the party marched inside, all of them barely fitting in the space. Aerith whispered her floor number to Cloud, who reached out with expert skill and pressed that button before Rufus could press the solitary button at the top. The other man arched an eyebrow at him.

"Aerith needs shoes," Cloud pointed out. Aerith offered a winning smile, and Rufus just rolled his eyes but didn't comment.

The elevator headed down, and it dinged relatively quickly, which was most likely caused by her getting distracted. Nanaki had stood menacingly and was snapping at Reno any time the other man moved, which had the redhead quite nervous. The doors blissfully chimed open and everybody exited.

"Hurry up, we have people waiting on us," Rufus reminded. Cloud, Aerith, and Nanaki left them standing awkwardly in front of the elevator doors as they strode down the hall towards her room.

Cloud _still_ refused to put Aerith down until she finally pointed out her door to him. While outwardly she rolled her eyes, inwardly her heart was gleefully singing at their close proximity even after he finally put her down. She couldn't stop the smile that flitted to her face as she felt around for the pocket her key would usually be in. Except she realized she didn't have a way to access her room. Laughing nervously as she wiggled her bare toes against the cold tile of the hallway, she looked at her companions. "So…I don't have my key," she admitted.

Cloud looked from the door to her and back again. "Can you open it…like you did before?" he asked in reference to her attempts to break them out of the cell in the labs, which made her giggle a bit.

"I could if this was a fancy electronic door, but it's just a standard keyhole, see?" she pointed out. "And I'm not the best at picking locks."

He moved forward and knelt in front of the doorknob, his eyes giving it a quick once-over. Then he hummed to himself, dug around in his pocket for a moment, and pulled out a nail.

"Where did you get that?" she asked in surprise.

Cloud smirked and held it up so she could see better. It was the same small nail she was going to use to short-circuit the door and let them out. He must have picked it up before they left the cell in the labs. After a few long moments of standing uncomfortably in the hallway while he fiddled with the lock, there was a satisfying _click_ and with the barest of grins, he opened the door to her familiar home.

"I'll wait out here," Nanaki said as he sat back on his haunches next to the door. Cloud stood up as Aerith walked through the doorway. The feeling of being back inside her space, even for a few moments, was a strange combination of coming home and being a stranger. After all, she was planning on leaving her room behind forever. She absently ran a hand along the plush throw on the back of her sofa as she stared out the floor-length window at the late-night view. The mangled reactor five sat quietly, no green plume of pollution illuminating the inhabitants below. Soft, green-tinted stars sparkled down on the city as she watched. The smallest sliver of light from a moon at the edge of the horizon promised a more spectacular show soon, although the warring clouds rapidly descending from the north promised otherwise.

Hearing Cloud move around, she glanced back to see him stride into the bathroom and begin rifling through things. She stepped carefully on the plush, gray carpet of her room and hoped she wasn't leaving bloody footprints everywhere as she went to investigate what he was doing.

He was running a washcloth under water when she walked in. His SOLDIER hearing must have picked up that she was there, because without looking up he ordered, "Go sit down. I'll be right out."

Aerith sighed and smiled a bit before obeying. She found herself sinking into a stool at the counter in her kitchenette, eyes trained on the bathroom door for when he would reappear. It only took a few moments for him to oblige her expectation, with the now-damp washcloth in one hand and a potion in the other. He put the latter down in front of her on the counter.

"Drink," he demanded.

Aerith eyed the potion. "My feet aren't that bad," she complained, not wanting to waste it. Cloud shook his head and pointed at it. Resigning herself to his demands, she unstopped it and let the bitter liquid slither its way down her throat. She grimaced, coughed the disgusting taste down, and pushed the empty bottle away, managing, "Happy?"

"Extremely," he deadpanned. Then he knelt in front of her with the washcloth before he looked expectantly up at her.

Aerith was confused as she watched him. Keeping his eyes trained on hers, he lifted an arm out and captured her ankle in his bare hand. It was then she realized he'd removed his gloves – something she had never seen him do. As he brought the surprisingly warm washcloth to her foot, she flinched in shock and blushed.

"Cloud, what are you doing?" she exclaimed as she hid her mortified face. "I'm _fine_ , really." In truth, she really was fine; the potion was doing its job and there was a strange ticklish tingling in the bottom of her feet now, where the skin there was quickly knitting itself back together.

Aerith didn't miss the blush that spread across his face as he ducked his head to focus on the task at hand and muttered, "Stop whining, I'm trying to help."

His expression and his action were both so caring underneath that stoic interior that she fell silent as she peeked through her hands and watched him work. While the feeling of somebody touching her feet was strange to her, he was gentle as he brushed away caked blood to reveal a perfectly healed foot underneath. His solemn concentration was such a familiar expression to her now. Memories of their encounters the past few days flashed before her eyes: his obvious discomfort in the suite at the Honeybee Inn, his soft, glowing eyes in the darkness, his out-of-place adorable confusion in the coffee shop when she asked what he wanted to order... That earnest assurance that he could help her be free of Shinra and Midgar once and for all.

If she didn't learn to control herself now, she would end up falling in love with her hero.

Cloud finished after a couple of silent minutes. The poor white washcloth he'd used was now stained pink, but her feet were feeling nice and freshly clean. She wiggled her toes in delight and beamed at him. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Don't mention it," he replied before standing up and holding out a hand to help her to her feet. His skin was surprisingly soft and not calloused considering his familiar use of melee weaponry. The light touch was enough to send a small electric shock to her heart.

Clearing her throat, she pulled away and stepped lightly to her bedroom to grab a fresh pair of clothes.

Fitting back into clothing that was hers – from the familiar textures to the comforting lavender scent of her laundry soap – was like putting on a layer of armor. It wasn't much more than long-sleeve blouse, jeans, and a light jacket, but these clothes were _hers_ and it made all the difference. She took great care in tucking that special small materia in her pocket before calling herself ready.

Feeling better than ever, Aerith padded back to the main room in her clean attire and fresh socks and took a pit stop in the bathroom to grab a hairbrush and her favorite pink ribbon. Then she reached her final destination to consider footwear options. While most of her shoes weren't built for the rugged unknown outside the city, she knew which boots she would prefer if she had the option. There was only one issue.

She groaned. Cloud, who had been loitering near the window in the living room was at her side in an instant. Worry creased his brow as he asked, "What's wrong?"

"My boots I left with Madam M, those were the ones I wanted to wear," she answered with a pout towards the rest of her footwear.

He crossed his arms and looked down shamefully. "I had them with me when I got here, but I didn't see them with the rest of our stuff… I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she supplied with a quick smile to emphasize the point. "I have lots of options here, I'm acting spoiled. Hmm…" Kneeling down, Aerith surveyed her various pairs of shoes. While she was looking, a pair kept catching her eye until she realized why – the boots were black, wide at the brim and folded over. They were worn and definitely a few years past saving, but they reminded her of the pair she was wearing in her visions. Without thinking twice, she reached for them.

"Are those the most…practical option?" Cloud asked with an arched brow and a confused frown.

Aerith shrugged and stood again, wiggling her toes in the safety of their enclosure. She declared, "I don't care, they've been through everything with me and they'll keep on trucking."

The corner of his mouth twitched, and his eyes softened as their gazes met. Then his stare rapidly found his feet once more.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she moved forward to try and glance under his hair.

He ducked his head farther. "Nothing," he replied firmly. "Let's get going."

Cloud started moving towards the door, but as he reached out a hand to open it, the other grasping his gloves, she stopped him with a hand on his arm. Turning around, he tilted his head inquisitively, just in time for Aerith to plant a peck on his cheek before he could turn away. Lingering next to his face, she whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Cloud. For everything."

He blushed a deep shade of burgundy and hid his face again, but not before she caught a beautiful wonder in his blue-green eyes.

"Let's go," he reiterated as he pulled open the door. Aerith practically skipped after him and stole his gloves out of his hand with a giggle. Her heart soared at the idea of freedom so close to touch.

* * *

_Cloud_

_Calm down,_ Cloud's mind reminded his heart once again as it continued to pound in his ears to the rhythm of the soft humming as the elevator began to climb. They had reunited with the Turks and Rufus Shinra at the entrance to the elevator and together they had all made their way to the top of the building. He still wasn't even sure if this was the right move, but at this point his primary mission was to bodyguard for Aerith.

His heartbeat increased as his eyes slid over to her eager frame. Dressed in her own clothing and worn black boots, she had spent the last few minutes carefully brushing and arranging her hair into a neat spiral braid that ran halfway down her back. There had been something calming about the way she manipulated her auburn locks to do what she wanted, and it certainly wasn't helping his heartbeat situation.

She had kissed him, plain and simple. It was a small gesture, a simple kiss on his cheek, but the spot still burned as he considered the implications behind it. Cloud was only slightly mortified to admit he had never been kissed by anybody except his own ma. The familial kisses she used to press to his head were entirely different than the one that still left an imprint on his cheek. It took all his willpower not to reach up and touch the spot, just to make sure his skin hadn't become enflamed from the gesture.

He was so caught up in his own head that he only just now noticed that Aerith had stolen his gloves, too. His fingers and wrists felt strangely vulnerable without the extra protection, and he eyed the missing gloves secured in her left fist wistfully.

Meanwhile, Reno continued to try and decipher the purpose of the new creature who now stood in the crowded elevator with him. "So who are you then?" he tried asking again of the creature that had pledged its loyalty to Aerith and hadn't said much since.

The creature huffed a breath and growled softly. "Professor Hojo designated me 'Red XIII,'" he answered tersely. Aerith tensed up next to him, but he didn't have a chance to ask what was wrong.

Cloud felt eyes on him then, and he glanced over to the men from Shinra to see Rufus glaring down at him. Nostrils widened and eyes narrowing, he was somewhere between contemplative and angry. As a Shinra, he was probably used to getting his way, so hearing that Cloud was the cause of Aerith's disobedience – the very word left a dirty taste in his mouth, as she was a grown woman – was probably not sitting well with him.

_Well that's just too bad,_ he thought smugly as he reminded himself that Aerith had chosen to go with _him_ , no matter that he had no plan on where exactly that would be. The first step was getting out of the Shinra building, and right now they were going the exact opposite direction.

The elevator dinged cheerfully and the door slid open to reveal…

_Purple. Everything tinged purple and mingled with nausea-inducing green._ _His vision swam and he felt himself swaying on his feet. Cool, gentle hands broke through the heat that flashed across his skin and caressed his cheek._

"Come, on, Cloud."

Aerith's voice, as soothing as a cool waterfall, brought Cloud back to alertness. He discovered he was leaning heavily on her and she was struggling to keep his weight up. Straightening instantly, he mumbled an apology under his breath. Her beautiful emerald eyes glittered in concern, and he allowed himself to anchor to them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Reno asked rudely as Cloud felt a jab in his shoulder blade.

Cloud whipped his head around and glared. "Nothing, I'm fine," he snapped.

Reno raised his arms with a roll of his eyes, but the Turk didn't get a chance to reply when Rufus stepped between the two to exit the elevator. Cloud followed his gaze to whatever had knocked him off-guard in the first place, and that's when he saw the purple that had overtaken his senses for a brief moment.

There, on the ground in oozing, pulsing puddles, was a disgusting, warped trail of purple. It stained the red carpet, and in places it even looked black in its concentration. While completely unfamiliar to him, the smell of absolute _decay_ hit his nose and almost made him gag. This must have been what had caught Rufus's attention, because the older drew his gun and held it up.

"Let's go," he said simply.

Reno shoved past him, knocking his shoulder into Cloud's which sent him staggering back a step. He wanted to snarl out a retort, but Aerith had her cool hand on his warm skin, and he found himself falling dumb as he met her gaze again. She had lost that bubbliness that had filled her whole being before and now had once again retreated into herself in fear. He was angry that he was beginning to recognize this expression in her body. Shoving down his own nerves - _What is going on with me?_ he thought anxiously – he took her hand off his shoulder and clutched it protectively, which kept him warm but in a much more pleasant way. She offered a grateful smile as he led her out of the elevator and around the purple goo. Rude walked at his back, but Cloud didn't particularly care; the Turk was not nearly as threatening as whatever this shit was.

They followed the strange, pulsing, living liquid up flights of stairs, around corners, and through a set of glass sliding doors that opened automatically as they approached. There was something off about the atmosphere now, and Cloud wasn't sure if it was the hanging stench of death or if it was something worse. Either way, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up and he reached around with his spare hand to grip his sword. On either side of them, Reno and Rude were also tensing; the former dropped his mag rod whose electricity pulsed in anticipation, and the latter cracked his knuckles. Even Aerith summoned her staff, which she clutched with white fingers in her free hand. She was looking around like a scared rabbit, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze of comfort before focusing on Rufus's tense back.

Up the final winding set of stairs and behind two sets of sliding doors was a large, open room that glittered black like the eyes of bugs and felt much more like the belly of a beast than the President's office. The trail of shining purple they had been following vanished without a trace once they hit the door, and for some reason the absence of eyes on the goo was even more unsettling than seeing it in the first place. The deathly, ashen smell hung even here, and it took Cloud a long moment of exploring the space with his gaze to realize why.

Rufus hissed angrily in front of him. Reno and Rude both let out exclamations of shock. Aerith stared with wide, horrified eyes as a growl elicited from Red XIII's throat. A heavy pressure slammed its way into the back of Cloud's mind with a familiar slithering sneer.

Behind an excessively wide desk stood President Shinra. Like many of his professional photos, he was wearing a crisp charcoal suit that was set off by a silver pocket square; unlike his many photographs, his suit was wrinkled, his pocket square was mused, and his pallid expression was a clash of shock and horror. It wasn't difficult to see why.

"Oh my god," Aerith whispered, because there – centered in his stout chest – was a long, gleaming, _familiar_ blade. Blood trickled down its wickedly sharp edge and dripped onto the floor, one ruby droplet at a time.

Behind the president was the owner of said sword, eyes narrowed in a predatory humor, like he found the entire situation funny. His thin lips were twisted into a pleased smirk, his silver hair flowed over broad shoulders, and the one-of-a-kind silver and black ensemble barely revealed the muscled chest they covered. Slit eyes met Cloud's and left him rooted to the spot in sheer terror.

_Sephiroth._

Cloud's hallucinations had more than done his once-hero-turned-enemy justice. The pressure in the back of his mind murmured in that familiar voice, beckoning him closer in the intimate promise that Sephiroth would take everything he had once again. Flashes of burning fire and screaming drowned out his senses and clouded his mind. He could do nothing but watch in shock as Rufus Shinra and the Turks rushed forward. Masamune – Sephiroth's beautiful, brutal sword - slid from President Shinra's corpse and Sephiroth vanished in a wisp of black smoke.

For a moment, the spell was broken. Cloud was able to tune into his surroundings better and he felt Aerith tremble next to him, her staff shaking as she stared, wide-eyed, where Sephiroth had just been.

"He was there?" he asked, just to absolutely confirm. "He was real?"

Aerith turned to him and nodded. They stared at each other for a few moments, and then something changed in her eyes. She took a deep breath, stowed away her staff, and reached up to touch his face again. "Are you okay?"

Cloud took a shaky step back and shook his head, half to clear his thoughts of that pressing in his skull and half to answer her. "I don't know," he managed to gasp. "He's never been real before."

Her brow pinched. "What are you talking about?"

Concern was awash in her expression. Cloud took a few steadying breaths and glanced around quickly to make sure Sephiroth wasn't there. He was still gone, and the pressure was slowly fading. "I've been seeing him for months," he admitted absently, "but he's always been a hallucination. He's dead, Aerith. I – I…" Trailing off, he glanced uncertainly at his hand as he finished quietly, "I thought I killed him."

She didn't say anything in reply, just silently reached for his hand again. Instead of holding it, though, she pressed his gloves into it. As Cloud slipped his fingers into the familiar leather, they both turned just in time to see Reno and Rude sprinting past towards the exit, undoubtedly to somehow pursue the smoke that was Sephiroth. Cloud had a sneaking suspicion they wouldn't find him in the building, not anymore. Sephiroth was too clever for that. He thought he heard the ghost of a laugh and whipped his head back towards where Shinra's body would now be slowly returning to the lifestream. The fresh corpse was already disintegrating, but that wasn't all that was happening: Rufus was helping a disgruntled Turk – Tseng, the one that had taken Aerith before, he recognized – back to his feet and shoved a potion into his hand.

Cloud couldn't help it; he tugged on Aerith's hand and stepped in front of her body to shield her from the Turk. There was no way he was letting her go, not again. Red XIII seemed to read into his body language and maneuvered himself in front of her as well.

"Cloud, it's fine," Aerith assured him.

Cloud felt all but reassured, barking, "Stay behind me." Then, sword drawn, he began to slowly edge towards the other two men, pausing only when a growl not coming from Red caught his attention. A massive disgusting creature that very much resembled guard hounds he'd fought a few times in the slums appeared on the other side of the desk, a long tentacle on top of its neck writhing menacingly.

"Darkstar," Rufus snapped. "Stand down."

The dog-like creature whipped its head back to its owner and stopped growling. Then it laid down and folded massive paws in front of it. Beady eyes kept Cloud and his sword in its sights.

Rufus and Tseng both turned to them with varying expressions of being unimpressed at him and his sword. Rufus spoke first. "Calm down, boy," he ordered. "There's nothing you can do here anymore. My father is dead."

"Then we'll be going now," Cloud responded easily as he gripped the sword a little tighter.

The smirk on the other's face said all he needed to prove his sneaking suspicion – Rufus Shinra wasn't used to not getting his way and his offer to Aerith wasn't just an offer; it was a demand.

_Not on my watch_ , he thought firmly.

"I'd rather think not. As the President of Shinra, it's in my best interest to keep assets close to me." Rufus's smirk grew more pronounced as he leaned over the desk and continued, "Namely rogue SOLDIERs and the last of the Ancients."

Tseng tsked and shook his head. "He's not even a SOLDIER, sir," he corrected with a small smile of his own. "In fact, he never has been."

" _Liar_!" Cloud yelled as he took a few more quick steps forward. Darkstar the guard hound snarled and sprang to its feet again. Cloud grunted and took a swing at the beast, just barely missing its paws as it darted out of the way. From behind him he felt more than saw Red leap onto the desk and bare his teeth at the two on the other side. A quick glance back assured him that Aerith was ready to fight too, her eyes shining in anger and nervousness.

Rufus sighed. "If you're determined to be stubborn about it, we'll settle this like men. Just the two of us."

An even fight was one that had Cloud itching to go. He gave a curt nod. "I accept," he spat.

"Then we'll go outside where we won't destroy this office," the older man declared as he stretched his fingers around his shotgun before nodding to Tseng. "Secure the Ancient."

Cloud's eyes narrowed and he dashed back in front of Aerith. Red vaulted off the desk and skidded to a halt next to him. "Get her out of here," Cloud told him while angling his stance into a guarded one. "I'll hold them off."

"Cloud!" Aerith spoke up, her voice shocked and emotional.

He glanced back to her and gestured with his head while ignoring the pleading in her eyes. "I'll be right behind you," he promised what he hoped was truthfully. "Get out of here and find the others."

The fear in her eyes dissolved into determination. She grabbed his arm and gave him another kiss on the cheek, which burned just as hotly as the last one as his heart pounded with adrenaline. Then she was off, Red XIII hot on her heels as they made their escape. Cloud turned with renewed vigor back to the other two people.

Rufus was shaking his head in pity. "Cloud, was it?" he said. "Your options are limited here. You cannot hold off both of us."

"I can try," Cloud replied edgily as he adjusted his stance for Tseng striding around the left side of the desk while Rufus moved around the right side. His eyes flickered from one to the other, waiting to see who would attack first. Rufus, hand still twitching next to his shotgun, looked the most probable candidate; however, he didn't see any visible weapon on Tseng. He knew enough about the Turks to know weapons weren't their only way to bring down people, however.

"Cloud, Cloud, Cloud." Rufus was still shaking his head. "There is no quitting Shinra, you must know that by now. Especially when enhanced, you're Shinra property. I _own_ you."

The very idea of it brought a smirk to Cloud's face as he listened. Rufus could think all he wanted, but if there's one thing he knew, it was that he would fight for his own autonomy no matter where he ended up.

It was Tseng who darted forward first, barely a flash of movement but enough to not catch him off-guard. Cloud brought his sword up and used the flat side to push away the fist that nearly collided with his face. In the next moment, Rufus was drawing his gun and aiming for just above his chest. Cloud tucked quickly into a diving roll and came up at the feet of the new president, his spare hand sweeping behind Rufus's legs to knock him to the ground. Then he backed up, taunting with his free hand.

"Come and get me," he said with a grim grin. Rufus huffed from his position on the ground and shifted to aim his shotgun, Cloud responding by guarding with the flat of his blade. In the process, he saw Tseng dart around him and try to make a run for the door.

_Nice try_ , he thought as he crouched and leapt towards the Turk, his feet halting and his sword swinging out to stop Tseng's progress. If Tseng was surprised, he didn't show it, but instead he took another swing towards Cloud's outstretched arm and got a quick jab in. The momentary pain caused his arm to lower his sword momentarily, just long enough for the Turk to smile once more and take off down the stairs. Before Cloud could go after him, he heard a shot behind him and felt a sharp pain blossom in his thigh.

" _Shit_ ," he swore as he grabbed his thigh with one hand while whirling around to face Rufus.

The new president of Shinra was smiling calmly as he lowered his smoking gun. "Just the two of us," he reiterated with a head tilt towards the waiting door to the outside. From the whine in the corner, it sounded like Darkstar wasn't happy with the arrangement and wanted to join. Luckily for Cloud, Rufus didn't spare a moment's glance to the beast and it chose to stay put.

Cloud grit his teeth, cast a quick cure on himself, and followed the older man outside while his thoughts drifted back to Aerith and Red. The strange creature seemed more than capable of taking care of himself, so at least she wasn't alone. On top of that, perhaps she would be lucky and make it out of the Shinra building. Perhaps she would meet up with Kunsel and Tifa. Perhaps Tifa was still alive…

The thought of it was enough to give him a new sense of determination. He wouldn't let his friends down. He wouldn't let Aerith down. It was time to show the Shinras that Aerith wasn't somebody to be owned or ordered around. She was her own person, and he would make sure she could do whatever she wanted in the world.

The helipad outside the president's office was expansive and empty. The stench of mako clung to the air alongside familiar smog and ash. Cloud entertained the thought for the slightest moment of peeking his head down at the city below to see if he could see the ruins of sector seven. The thought churned his stomach.

So instead, he did what he did best – sword in his hand, he marched behind Rufus Shinra and waited for the other to turn around. The new president seemed to have an air for the theatrics based on his only stopping when he was in the direct center of the helipad. He turned around slowly, one hand gripping his gun and the other tossing something in his hand. The faint clinking sound brought Cloud's attention to the action, and he realized the small item being tossed along his fingers and gently tossed in the air was a coin. His gaze was drawn to the simple movement and he watched as it slowly reached its peak and began a tumble down. It was only they he realized the shotgun pointed towards the coin and at his heart.

Cloud brought his sword up to guard just in time, and the force of the shot pushed his surprised form back a couple inches. Not wanting to show he'd been distracted, he swung his sword around once and demanded, "Let's get this over with."

"Oh, don't be like that," the older man replied with a twist of a smile. Rufus was toying with him, delaying him, this Cloud knew – but Cloud had a grudge to settle and he was going to spend his current energy trusting Aerith to know the building well enough to get out safely.

Swinging the sword around once for momentum, he charged, dropping into a guarded position just as Rufus aimed again. He felt his muscles tense in anticipation of the force this time, and as three bullets ricocheted of his blade he swung a low swatch forward towards the other's knees. Rufus managed to dodge the majority of the attack, but his sixth shot missed by a margin because of his distraction. Cloud got up close and thrust forward speedily, finally succeeding in landing a blow.

Rufus coughed for the slightest moment and clicked his fresh shells into the chamber. Shooting a quick glance at his materia, Cloud willed magic from his blade and shot a ball of fire towards the other man, momentarily catching him off-guard. Rufus disappeared for a moment in a ball of red fire and black smoke, and then a bullet came whipping through the clearing attack and grazed the top of Cloud's arm. "Shit," he swore as he retreated and quickly checked the wound. It was only a surface wound, but blood still dripped from his arm and onto the helipad below.

It reminded him of how the late President Shinra's blood had trickled down Masamune's edge…

Blinking away the image, Cloud dropped back into a guarded stance as he waited for Rufus to emerge, which the other man did in a moment, his movements fast and difficult to follow as he skidded to a halt next to Cloud and aimed directly for his head. Ducking as quickly as he could, Cloud then swiped the buster sword towards Rufus, where it collided with the man's stomach on its arch. Rufus dropped back a few feet, his breathing very audible even from here.

He slowed for a moment and resumed taunting, "Think you got my number?" He watched Rufus flex his fingers and wipe fresh blood on the front of his coat.

"Not at all," Rufus replied smoothly. "You're making me sweat." Sure enough, his hair, once slicked back, was falling out of place and running into his eyes. Cloud knew the feeling – he shook his own hair out of his eyes and doubled down on his stance just as Rufus pulled two more coins out of his jacket and narrowed his eyes. Rufus grinned. "Good thing I came prepared," he said, and then he flipped the coin in the air.

Except this time, his other hand pulled out a second shotgun Cloud had somehow missed. Grunting, he rolled away from the impact of the next rounds, his cheek taking a grazed casualty that instantly smarted, and aimed for the guns with his sword. Rufus danced away with a relaxed laugh, as if he'd seen the move coming.

_What, does this guy train with SOLDIER or something?_ he grumbled to himself as he fixed his stance and charged again.

Fighting Rufus Shinra was strange, in part because Cloud didn't expect the Shinra heir to be much of a fighter… not that he spent lots of time reading the Midgarpolitan magazines or scrolling the fan message boards while he borrowed Tifa's PHS, of course. No, everything he knew about the guy was from his research into SOLDIER back when he was a kid. Rufus Shinra had always been labeled a 'pretty boy' with a charisma that bit into dissenters and an attitude to boot.

It was almost… _refreshing_ to be dueling somebody who made him think. While he'd had his fair share of battles this past week between angry mechs and larger-than-life crabs, Cloud was actually _enjoying_ the duel. He sensed the urgency of his needing to reconnect with Aerith again, but there was a small, selfish part of him that relished in the burn of his calves and biceps from his endless dodging and searching for openings in the older man's stance. They were evenly matched as well, which gave him a strange sense of relief. It was as if he had expected himself to be worse. _Probably my dwelling about failure earlier,_ he thought to himself as he grimly dodged another round of bullets. A strike of lightning flashed dangerously close to his left ear and he winced before matching it with his own.

As calm and collected he felt, Cloud knew he needed get out of here. It was time to make a point, and, his weapon bursting to life while his joints vibrated with anticipation, he set his stance and darted forward while unleashing his limit break in a series of powerful slashes in a crisscross pattern.

After landing and catching his breath, Cloud looked up to see the damage. Rufus was stumbling and took a moment to shake himself. He was clearly about to lose, a sight that had Cloud's blood singing.

"I could end this here and now," he retorted at the small smile that still encapsulated the infuriating older man.

Rufus shook his head and reached into his jacket slowly. "No, not quite," he answered easily as he pulled out a clenched fist. Whatever was inside, Cloud couldn't pick up on it. He warily got to his feet and adjusted his stance again.

"No matter where you may go, I will always be one step behind," Rufus told him with a smirk as he moved his closed fist behind his back. "If you think you can get away today, you are sorely mistaken. I will tell everybody that it was _you_ , Avalanche _scum_ , who killed my father. We'll hunt you across the entire planet."

The smirk grew more pronounced, almost predatory in nature. Cloud narrowed his eyes as Rufus continued, "If you leave now without Aerith, then I may just give you a head start to flee the city."

" _Not interested_ ," Cloud spat. There was no way he was going to leave Aerith in the hands of Shinra, never again. His heart sang its approval.

The resignation on the older man's face was short-lived. He stretched the arm behind him and then the object was spiraling towards him. Cloud only had a half moment to grasp that it was an unpinned grenade sailing right towards his head.

" _SHIT!"_ He shouted as he tucked and rolled before sprinting as far away as he could get –

The world upended, sending him careening towards the edge of the helipad and to the thousand-foot drop below.


	14. The End of the Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the final regular chapter of this story! There will be an epilogue next and then I may continue with a second part someday, once I get other fic ideas out of my head.
> 
> I want to share with each and every one of you how much your likes and reviews mean to me. This was my first multi-chapter fic in the fandom and I've been shown nothing but love and support. I'm not much of a person to reply but you can bet I read every single review and get flustered and grateful over each one. In addition, I want you all to know that I will always love and support you, too.
> 
> Regarding recent events on Twitter: I will never condone ship wars, because in the end we should all create good content for others to enjoy without hating on others for having a different preference. I will always try to be a small bridge between two ships who have been hurt by each other for too long. Please know there is a way to be peaceful, positive, and loving just like Aerith would want us to be. Keep creating the content you love and know there are other ships that support what you do.
> 
> Thank you to my beta and fellow author Rand0mSmil3z for helping me through each of these chapters. She's an amazing writer too and her stories are incredible. I started reading her fic Halcyon Days and fell in love, even though the ship was Cloti. If you're looking for an amazing story that'll pull you in from the get-go, I highly recommend Halcyon Days!
> 
> On that positive note, let's escape from the Shinra building already!

_Aerith_

Taking the elevator all the way from the executive suite to the second floor of the Shinra building won Aerith's mental contest for the longest ride she'd ever had. As she nervously wrung her hands and anxiously glanced between the passing floors and the partly-cloudy night outside the glass wall, her mind drew back to the long elevator ride from the beginning of the week. It seemed like a lifetime ago now, when she and Kunsel were ambushed by Rufus' bombshell news that her guardian expected them to _marry._ The word "engagement" still felt foreign in her mind, and the idea that her supposed fiancé was now locked in a battle with _Cloud,_ somebody who had continually stepped up on the premise of wanting to keep her safe, was a notion that should be completely ridiculous…

And yet it wasn't.

 _When did I become so popular?_ she inwardly groaned, unsure if this was a good thing or not. Her heart fluttered a moment as she thought to Cloud's piercing gaze, his grim resolution when he had told her to escape without him. _Will he be okay?_

The lifestream's image of Zack in the back of her mind out offered a shrug and a small chuckle. The chuckle was _his_ , a noise she hadn't heard in years. The sound thrust her back in time, back to when they would meet in secret and he'd bring her souvenirs from his missions. She felt the ribbon at the top of her head – one such souvenir – and relished in its familiar cool silk.

 _If Spikey can do anything, it's survive,_ the image told her plainly.

Yet the image didn't just tell her. _Zack_ told her; she could hear his cool voice whisper in her mind, untouched by the world burning below her. Aerith froze in shock. _This entire time, was Zack really here?_

 _…Zack?_ she eventually dared herself to ask.

The image of Zack's face softened, and he flashed a quick smile accompanied by a thumbs up. _The one and only, in the flesh! Oh, well maybe not the flesh. In your mind? From the planet? I don't know, take your pick,_ his cheery voice responded. _It took a long time for me to convince her that I was the best choice for liaison for you. You know how insistent I can be!_

She heard him speak, and all she could do was stare out the window in open-mouthed shock.

Zack was in her mind.

_Zack._

Aerith took a step back and gasped as he chuckled again. She had assumed the lifestream had given her the face of somebody she trusted to help her trust in the planet, but for it to _actually be Zack_? She raised a shaking hand to her parting lips.

"Are you all right?" Nanaki, otherwise known as Red XIII, asked. Aerith blinked a bit and focused on her newest companion. He was eyeing her warily with his head tilted. The flame at the end of his tail twitched lazily around them like a soft beacon for her eyes to follow.

"I…I think so," she answered softly.

Red nodded and resumed his glancing around the elevator as they continued their slow descent. He sat down and almost looked relaxed. Aerith returned her focus to Zack and carefully asked, _Are you always going to be there?_

This brought an outright, welcome laugh out of Zack's lips. _Why, do you need some alone time?_ he teased.

Aerith flushed at his implication. _This is very…strange. Not unwelcome!_ she added quickly. _But very new to me._

 _I get it, don't worry. No, I'm not 'here' all the time,_ he reassured her with air quotes around the _here_. _The planet was worried about you and wanted to make sure you got out safely. I probably don't even need to be here now, with your guard dog and all that._

Glancing at Red, she let out a small giggle. _I don't think he's a dog._

_Well, whatever he is. He seems perfectly capable of handling any issues. As do you, I might mention. Nice staff there!_

_Thanks._ She tightened her grip around her staff and felt its waiting power thrum into her palm. She smiled wryly at the sensation. _I like being able to defend myself._

He chuckled. _Between you, your guard not-dog, and Spikey upstairs, you have yourself a good team, Aerith._

_That isn't even all of them; I've been working with Kunsel too. And a friend of Cloud's, Tifa._

There was a cheer from the other in the back of her mind. _Kunsel, my man! And Tifa, I remember her! I met her a few years back. She's feisty, but she's strong. She'd be great in a fight,_ he said enthusiastically and approvingly.

It felt amazing to hear his voice, even if it was just in her head and just for now. She was already feeling more relaxed and more determined. She felt _stronger,_ which was something she desperately needed as the elevator slowed while they reached their destination.

The doors slid open and they walked forward to the room beyond. Aerith squinted into the atrium's off-hours darkness beyond the glass wall.

The elevator entrance was on the second floor, and her view of it was flanked on either side by staircases that dropped down to the first floor lobby below; it was there that she caught light flashing in bursts of white. The walls trembled in rhythm with the blasts, and she thought that she could see dark silhouettes moving amongst the shadows while distant yells permeated the space.

 _Is a fight happening?_ she wondered, suddenly unsure. "Do you see that?" she asked Red while pointing.

The creature nodded his head slowly as the elevator dinged to a halt. "It could be trouble."

The doors separating them from the main room opened, and they were thrust into absolute chaos. The shouts of dozens of troopers carried through the glass doors the elevator bay was hidden behind. This was accompanied by the ringing of gunshot after gunshot, the sort that belonged to a fierce battle and not the lobby of the Shinra building. Had some kind of monster gotten into the building? Was this the Avalanche coup still playing out? Aerith summoned her staff and warily approached the glass doors.

The staccato pops of gunshots only increased tenfold as the doors silently slid open and they joined the same air as the battle ensuing below. Up on the second floor no movement stood out to her apart from the flashes coming from the first floor, but she peered into the shadows all the same to make sure she wouldn't be ambushed. Red had lowered onto his haunches in preparation to spring on anybody who dared attack, but for the time being they were alone. It was over the railing and down on the main floor that the flashes and shouting were coming from. In fact, as she prepared to walk over to the edge and see just what the hell was going on down below, she caught one very loud voice laughing boisterously above the fray as a whirlwind of bullets flew up into the air above her head. She ducked out of reflex.

"What the hell is going on down there?" she whispered frantically to Red, who perked his ears towards the noise below.

After listening for a few tense moments, he replied, "I hear murmurings of infiltration. The infantry is being ordered to kill 'the man,' whomever that may be."

"My guess is that he's the loud one," she predicted as she eyed the railing and determined no more stray bullets were coming their way – at least for now. "I'm going to go check it out."

"Be careful," Red warned as he covered her when she stepped forward. Keeping in her crouching position, she half-crawled, half-walked to the ledge and stood up just enough to wrap her fingers around the metal bar and peek over railing.

The scene below was nothing short of confusing. From her position, the first thing Aerith spotted was easily 'the man' the infantry had been ordered to kill. He was large in stature, tall and muscular with a cutoff jacket and a gigantic gun for an arm. He had cropped hair, sunglasses on despite the darkness of the room, and a wicked grin. As she watched, he braced his gun arm and shot a handful of large explosions towards a concentration of troopers.

"Take _that!_ " he shouted with glee.

It was then that Aerith caught something even stranger. There was a trooper farther off to the left, closer to the stairs, who was subtly sneaking behind other troopers and taking them down one by one with their fists. They moved so quickly she wasn't surprised the troopers never saw it coming. The trooper glanced back to the parking ramp entrance to the building and nodded once, their standard helmet bobbing with the action.

Over at the parking ramp entrance, the doors slid open to reveal _SOLDIER second class Kunsel_ sans his favorite helmet, standard issue sword out and ready as his mako-infused eyes glinted in the muted light. She could see him calculating his moves carefully, because even a second-class SOLDIER had his limits. And then, with fresh resolve, he dove into the nearest group of uncertain troopers watching him.

Aerith almost sighed in relief at the sight of it all. It took her only a quick second to piece together that the trooper in disguise was Tifa, and somehow the man with a gun for an arm – which she now recognized from the wildly publicized video footage of the Mako five reactor explosion – factored into their plan too.

"Those are my friends Kunsel and Tifa," she pointed out to Red quickly. "The other big man is a friend of Tifa and Cloud's. They must be here to help!"

Red studied the scene below and glanced back at her. "Do you feel comfortable joining them?" he asked carefully. Aerith thought for a moment and glanced at her staff.

"Maybe I can do more help from up here," she pointed out. "What do you want to do?"

"I will stay and guard you," Red replied instantly. "I can help elsewhere if need be."

Nodding firmly, Aerith resumed watching the scene below. Kunsel had plowed through the first group of troopers like they were an autumn harvest and was focusing his efforts on helping keep the large man's steadily growing group of enemies at bay. Meanwhile, Tifa was doing a great job blending in as she worked her fists' magic and continued to bring down the infantry, one by one. Aerith stood up fully and started firing off spells towards those closest to her friends. Once her fire materia was ready, she cast fire on a trooper who had finally caught onto Tifa and had tripped her. She fell, her helmet falling off in the process. The man went down in a burst of flame and none were the wiser except Tifa, who looked around in confusion, before spotting Aerith a moment later. Her eyes widened in surprise when Aerith launched a cure her way, and Aerith offered an enthusiastic wave in response.

 _My friends are alive,_ her entire being sang in relief. _They came to help._

There was an angry man in the corner that Aerith recognized as Heidegger, the Director of Public Security. He was shouting incoherently at troopers, flailing his arms this way and that and emphasizing the need to bring down the large man with the prosthetic gun. Meanwhile, Kunsel spent a couple of quick seconds disarming and knocking out the troopers that flanked him. He offered a wave and a grin to the director that Aerith could see even from up here, and Heidegger's face went beet red as he started screaming, "INSOLENCE! TRAITOR!"

Aerith wanted to get closer to the action. She glanced at Red and jerked her chin towards the chaos below, signaling her intent, then took off towards the stairs. She used the rails as cover before she reached them. If she could make it down to the halfway point on the stairs, she would still have protection and she would also have a better vantage point for casting spells. On her way down she shot another cure, this time towards Kunsel as a passing bullet sliced his arm.

Kunsel finally spotted her as she reached her destination halfway down the stairs and the relief on his face was palpable. In a flash he was cutting through troopers as he sprinted towards her, which alarmed Red. Red moved warily in front of her as the SOLDIER approached, but Aerith stepped around him to accept the one-armed hug Kunsel sent her way.

"You're here!" Kunsel exclaimed the moment they were together. "How did you escape? Did Cloud find you? What happened?" The questions Kunsel was firing off were both frantic and relieved, and then he let go of her to position himself between her and a stray trooper who had followed got too close.

"I can tell you all about it later," Aerith responded as she sent fire towards another trooper who was approaching the gun-arm man. "Are you the backup for the rescue mission?"

Kunsel grinned at her from over his shoulder with a quick, "You bet!"

"And the other man is…?"

"Barret," he said quickly as he fended off another two troopers. "He's the leader of Cloud and Tifa's branch of Avalanche here in Midgar. He has the temper of an angry gorger, but he is very loyal to his team."

Aerith eyed the other man with new eyes as she remembered something else – she also recognized him from a more recent memory, the one the planet had supplied to her. He was part of her found family.

"We should finish this reunion another time," Red mentioned as more troopers started heading their way.

Kunsel looked down at him, shook his head for a moment, and laughed. "I like you, man," he said. "I agree. I'll draw their fire elsewhere so Aerith can work her long-range magic."

Aerith beamed at him before hitting another trooper on his way up.

The SOLDIER did his best to draw the troopers away as he shouted to get their attention and danced out of the patterns of their bullets. The few that remained were left for Red and Aerith to take care of. The former was pretty powerful at close range as he scratched across the chests of unsuspecting men and sunk his teeth into others. Aerith kept up the steady stream of magic and materia use, pausing only to check that the others were still okay. It looked like they were going to win, after all – despite the stream of troopers that continued to line up, they were steadily battling their way to victory.

Her momentary eyeing of the battlefield proved to be a bad choice when a bullet sailed past her ear and startled her while a second shot in quick succession found its mark in her calf. " _Shit!_ " she swore as a pain like she'd never felt before blossomed up her leg and caused her to crumple before she realized what she was doing. The fresh wound burned angrily and forced tears to form in her eyes from the shock of it.

"Aerith!"

Red's concerned shout drew her watery gaze and she saw him slam into a final trooper before sprinting back her way. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over her head, and then Aerith felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Reflexively, her hand curled defensively around her staff.

"I come in peace," Tseng's smooth voice reassured as he positioned himself in her line of sight. She glanced upward and noticed that his other hand was clasped around a green orb. "I have healing materia."

Red snapped as he approached, "Get away from her. She does not trust you."

"Please let me go," Aerith choked as she shied away from his touch and winced when she moved her leg. "Please, Tseng."

When she finally met his dark eyes, she saw his were warm and not at all the steely professional he'd exhibited in front of Rufus earlier. He held the materia out to Red. "It's healing materia, I assure you," he repeated calmly. "Let me heal her."

Red sniffed the materia carefully and then bowed his head. Aerith watched as he stood protectively next to her. Tseng curled his fingers around the materia once more, closed his eyes, and then the horrible, twisting pain in her leg began to recede. She gasped in surprise as a warm comfort fell over her. Then she reflexively sighed and stretched her leg out to look. Her calf looked good as new, and a small, brass object was resting innocently on the carpeted floor next to it. She picked up the bullet in wonder and stared at it.

"I have a mantra I've been trying to instill in the Turks since I took over," Tseng murmured carefully as he remained crouched next to her. She looked uncertainly back at him. "It's important to separate work and personal life. We should never bring our personal lives to work, and we should leave our work behind when we clock out."

He smiled wryly at her confused expression before continuing, "It just so happens I clocked out for the day a couple minutes ago."

"You're…letting me go?" Aerith asked in a small voice, nerves still flooding her. Tseng was nothing short of an enigma.

The Turk in question stood and offered his arm to help her up. She accepted it slowly, aware that Red was still watching and waiting for a wrong move. For now, she was safe.

"If your desire is to leave Shinra with your friends, it's of no concern to me personally. When I'm back on the clock, I may be ordered to pursue, however. I can't guarantee I won't catch you and bring you back again. But for now… it's out of my hands," he finished with a small smile.

The loyalty Tseng had for Shinra was well-known, and Aerith had experienced it first-hand. And yet, she now realized he had always been loyal to her, too – as much as he could be within Shinra's employ. He'd always been there, since she was a little girl: he had always stuck by her side, he had personally escorted her on her visits to Hojo's lab when she was younger, and he had initially kept her relationship with Zack a secret until it became an issue with President Shinra. While she was still upset at his bringing her in and leaving Cloud incapacitated back in Wall Market, she realized it was his job. Tseng had to protect himself and his Turks so they could remain in the position they were in. If he proved himself untrustworthy to Shinra, he would be expendable – and if there was anything she understood, it was how dangerous expendability was to Shinra.

"Tseng, I…" she trailed off and hoped her expression conveyed her honest sincerity. "Thank you. For everything."

The smile on his face didn't leave, but she thought she saw his eyes tense for a brief moment. It could have been a trick of the light, however; Tseng _never_ showed emotions. He offered her and then Red a quick bow before he retreated the way he came, back towards the second floor. After a couple steps he slowed and then stopped altogether, and Aerith followed his gaze to the top of the stairs.

 _Whoop, there he is!_ Zack crowed in excitement. Aerith's heart leapt into her throat.

_Cloud._

The man himself stood there, his baby blue and mako green eyes drinking in the sights below. His hair was windswept and his face and arms were covered in soot. A large gash had just begun to heal on his cheek, and there was evidence of previous bleeding from the drying drops of red that marched their way down his chin. As his observation panned around the atrium, his gaze rested on her. For the longest second, the world stopped – the fighting behind her dimmed, Red's flickering tail slowed to a crawl, and Aerith heard her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

_You're okay._

The clear message of liberation melted his arrested expression, and his lips parted slightly as she found she couldn't look away. A soft pink flush appeared on his cheekbones and he took an involuntary step towards her.

Then he saw movement and flicked his eyes away towards Tseng, who was standing calmly on the steps below him, _between_ them. Cloud's expression morphed from relief to anger, his mouth twisting into a snarl as he whipped his sword off his back and pointed it at the other man's throat.

"Cloud, wait –" Aerith tried to warn him, but before she could get out much more there was an exclamation behind her and then Red was whipping around and charging down the stairs. She followed the creature's movement, using the staircase railing to pull herself to her feet and feeling nothing but phantom pain from when she'd been shot a couple minutes earlier. Fingers clutched her staff protectively as she whirled to face the threat.

Tifa, who had shoved her trooper helmet back on, had been trying to make her way over to Aerith and was almost there, except that she had a few troopers behind her. She flung herself around and launched a well-placed kick in the closest man's stomach, sending him flying. As she took on the second, Aerith began her own volley of magic on the another. Red snapped threateningly at the others to hold them at bay.

Beyond Tifa, the gun-arm man – Barret – had realized where she was heading too. He took a moment to wipe sweat off his face and shout in their direction, "Are we ready to get this show on the road or what?"

Aerith sent a cure his way and bobbed her head up and down. She was ready to leave Shinra behind – _for good_.

"Do we have everybody?" Kunsel called over his shoulder as he swung his broadsword and cleaved a trooper's gun in two.

She glanced back towards where Cloud had been, but he had disappeared; so had Tseng. For a tense heartbeat she thought Cloud had gotten into a fight with him after all, but then she heard a strange sound begin to roar over the slowly lessening noises of battle below.

A split second later, Cloud was back, but this time he was on a huge motorcycle, one hand gripping the buster sword while he started down the stairs. She pressed herself against the railing in surprise as he approached and then slowed to a stop. Then he met her eyes again and gave her a small smile.

"Hop on," he ordered with a nod of his head to the space behind him, and before she could stop herself from saying no Aerith complied, minimizing her staff and clambering over the large seat. She adjusted quickly and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hold on tight," he told her, and then the vehicle rumbled and shot down the rest of the stairs. Involuntarily, Aerith squeezed Cloud's waist with shock. The power emulating from the vehicle shook her and sent a thrill of both fear and excitement through her. Without realizing it she had squeezed her eyes shut, so she peeled them back open to see where he was going – and then yelped as they went airborne and landed in the middle of everything.

The impact of the motorcycle on the ground floor of the building swept troopers in a ten-foot radius off their feet. Barret, who was nearby, skidded back and almost fell over himself: his arm and gun swung wildly as he tried to fix his balance. On his other side was Kunsel, who gave him a light shove forward so that he steadied himself. "Nice to see you again, Cloud," the SOLDIER greeted with a quick nod as he kicked an approaching infantryman.

"Likewise," Cloud replied, bracing the motorcycle with a leg. "Do you have an escape plan?"

Kunsel rolled his eyes and let out a smirk, answering, "When don't I?"

Aerith glanced around for Tifa only for the fighter to appear on her other side. She took off her trooper helmet and gave a quick thumbs up. "It's great to see you, Aerith!" she said breathlessly as she tossed the helmet aside. "Thanks for the assist back there!"

"It's the least I could do!" Aerith responded just as enthusiastically.

Then, a low grumbling from underneath the motorcycle caught her and everybody else off-guard. Aerith looked uncertainly at the motorcycle – it was humming too, but this was something much, _much_ larger that was approaching. It was accompanied by the undeniable cackle of Director Heidegger.

"You're not getting out of this one alive, sewer rats!" the director scoffed with one hand pounding on his puffed-out chest.

Cloud and Barret had a short, silent conversation. Aerith watched the exchange while her heart drummed nervously in her chest to the beat of the rapidly increasing grumbling below them. Cloud finally nodded.

"Time to go," Barret insisted again, this time turning his back to them and shooting a shower of bullets towards a suddenly spluttering Heidegger. Tifa ran alongside him, her gloves coming up while she punched anybody that got too close. Cloud's hands reached down and enveloped Aerith's, bringing them tighter around his waist. Aerith pressed into his back in a strange state of euphoria at their proximity and continued fear at the unknown quickly approaching. Then Cloud kicked off the ground and they were off again, this time at a slower pace as he kept the motorcycle behind the sprinting Avalanche members. Glancing behind her, Aerith watched Red and Kunsel pick up the rear, the latter with his broadsword and a determined expression. He nodded in encouragement to her before slashing out at the last of Heidegger's security team. Red kept his eyes on the motorcycle.

"Gate 2, right?" Tifa called over her shoulder as the entourage made it out the side doors and into the parking garage. Aerith wasn't too familiar with the location, but the question wasn't directed at her as Kunsel shouted an affirmation back. He darted around the motorcycle while reaching into his pocket to produce a set of keys. In front of them, Barret shot at a gate – one with a bright yellow "02" on it – and it blew off its hinges. Cloud rolled the motorcycle to a stop as the other SOLDIER leapt over the fence and approached a waiting truck with the keys jingling in his hand.

After what felt like an eternity of Aerith nervously biting her lip and glancing back at the doors as the Shinra military forces regrouped inside, Kunsel had the truck door unlocked and was ushering Tifa inside. "You two get in the back," he told Red and Barret before he climbed into the driver's seat.

Aerith felt Cloud shift underneath her fingers. "Do you want to ride with them?" he asked, his voice sounding unsure. She lifted her head off his back and watched the others, remembered her feeling of freedom the last time she was on a bike, and then shook her head.

"I'll stay here if that's okay," she replied softly. She nuzzled into his back again and inhaled his now-familiar scent of leather and earthiness, reminding her of freshly turned dirt in a garden bed like she'd come across once on a trip with her guardian. That smell grounded her, rooted her. She knew she felt safest with him.

He coughed once and his ears turned red, but he didn't give any other indication of a reaction. Just then, Kunsel had the others loaded in the truck and he began backing out of the spot. "Hey Cloud," he called over the noise of the engine, "do you want to lead the way?"

"Which way are we headed?" Cloud asked back as he shifted the sword in his hand.

"Anywhere, as long as it's out of the city."

Cloud nodded and kicked the motorcycle back into its balancing act. Aerith pressed tight against his back and waved quickly at her friends as he eased them forward. In no time, they were leaving the parking garage behind as they sped up to hop on the empty midnight expressway.

The wind whipped her braid and Aerith realized for a wild moment that she wasn't wearing a helmet like last time. She sucked in a sharp breath as she watched the world speed by at an incredible pace, the only thing stopping her from tumbling being her tight grip around Cloud. Her heartbeat picked up as she stared up at the slowly clearing skies above Midgar, to the sparkling stars that winked ominously at her in between patches of dull green puffs. A canvas of the deepest navy blue was still tinged the slightest with mako green, but as they sped away from the Shinra building she swore the foreign color began to recede.

The skin of her arms underneath the soft wool of her light jacket and long-sleeve shirt was prickling with goosebumps at the chill, but at the same time she felt warm and safe like she'd never felt as she clung to Cloud's waist. He seemed to be very good at handling the large motorcycle; he steered with the slightest touches to the handlebar and didn't jostle her at all as he sped down the asphalt. Kunsel drove the truck alongside them before he grinned and sped up ahead. They were moving so fast, the ground beneath her was a blur of black. Finally, she chanced a peek over her shoulder to see if they were being followed.

"Um, Cloud?" Aerith leaned forward and pressed her lips close to his ear. "We've got company."

At the same time she let Cloud know, the truck slowed down again so that they were matching paces. "Got any ideas for our bogeys?" Kunsel shouted over the roar of the two vehicles.

Cloud craned his neck for a moment to glance behind them before looking back. "Barret might be our best bet to hold them off," he answered.

Kunsel nodded and sped up again while Cloud maneuvered behind the truck just as Barret and Red were poking their heads out of the flap of the canvas top. Cloud used one hand to signal behind them and the other two followed the movement before fixating on the company they were about to have.

"Think you can take care of them?" Cloud asked.

Barret laughed deeply and a little wildly, cocking his gun-arm and winking at Aerith. "You bet your hard-boiled _ass_ I can!"

Cloud maneuvered out of the way again and sped up, causing Aerith – whose grip had loosened as she followed the discussions – to squeal and grab tight again. This caused the bike to falter for a moment and a hand came gently tapping at the back of her hand.

"Mind loosening your grip a little?" Cloud asked her over the noise.

Aerith instantly loosened her hands enough so that he could comfortably breathe again, her face feeling warm suddenly even in the chilly night air. "I'm sorry," she apologized in his ear again. He shook his head once as if it wasn't a big deal but didn't try to say anything else.

And then the first hail of bullets erupted out of the back of the truck. Aerith hid her head against Cloud's back as a volley of lights responded, one whizzing so close to her face she _heard_ it. The recent feeling of being shot made her seize up in terror at the thought of feeling such a pain again, but it seemed that Cloud had other things in mind. He sped up around the truck and took the lead, so that their flank was protected.

Aerith peeked around his shoulder to watch the world fly by. A series of tunnels lay before them, and as she watched, she felt more than heard Cloud's breath catch in his throat. He sped up more, if at all possible, and waved his sword in a quick motion meant for Kunsel.

"Hold on tight," he shouted as he ducked his head and took off like a rocket. Aerith followed suit and did her best to hold on. Around them, there was suddenly a loud rumbling as pieces of the top of the tunnel began to catapult to the ground in large, earth-shattering crashes. The ground underneath them shifted and threatened to collapse and send them careening into the slums below the plate. She shrieked in surprise and squeezed her eyes shut. The tumultuous ground and screeching of brakes was all she heard.

A few seconds later, the sounds of bullets ceased. Beneath her, the ground no longer rumbled except by what was expected with the motorcycle, even as Cloud eased the speed down a bit. Aerith took a shuddering breath and dared to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Cloud's ear as he glanced back to see the damage. Following his gaze, she saw the truck hot on their heels. Behind the truck was a pile of twisted metal and concrete. A soft, gray cloud of ash and smoke was just beginning to rise from the fresh rubble that had cut them off from their pursuers.

They'd made it.

 _We made it,_ she breathed. In the back of her mind, Zack cheered and gave her two thumbs up.

Cloud slowed down minutely and flexed the fingers around his outstretched sword. He shook his head for a moment as if clearing his thoughts and took a deep breath. The sound of the truck behind them and the feeling of the motorcycle underneath her was almost enough to make her cry from happiness. She was free of Shinra, free from Midgar, free of a life she'd never wanted.

While her heart soared as it sang out the promise of _freedom, freedom, freedom_ , the bike suddenly lurched forward and Aerith almost careened into Cloud as she yelped and resumed her vice grip on her driver. The bike was screeching to a halt, and the truck did the same a half moment later.

"What's going on?" she asked out loud as the noise subsided and Cloud killed the engine. "Everything okay?"

She peeked around him again to see the end of the road, which was a disappointing sight. _Don't all the roads connect to the wastes outside of town?_ she thought to herself with a frown. But then she caught the reason Cloud had stopped, the reason he was _shaking_ beneath her right now. His heart was pounding enough for her to feel it as she still clung to him, and she finally let him go.

"What the hell?" Cloud growled, his fingers tightening around his blade as he threw the kickstand of the motorcycle out and climbed off his bike. Aerith quickly followed and laced her fingers through his free ones, trying to do her best to keep him grounded and not lose himself in memories. Her gaze turned back to the lone figure waiting casually at the end of the road, long, silver sword gleaming in the greenish glow of the mako reactors behind them. He was smiling, slitted eyes calm and calculating as they bore into Cloud's.

 _Sephiroth_ , Zack said with newfound fury.

* * *

_Cloud_

There was a roaring in Cloud's ears that he couldn't decipher – was it some kind of outside noise? Was it the rush of blood fueling the adrenaline spiking in his veins? Anger and fear coursed through him. His skin felt hot and his hand was aching at the tightness with which he gripped his sword.

His other hand seemed to be rooted to something cool and reassuring, a strange combination with the screams of danger and vengeance in his mind. He wanted to look, but found he couldn't tear his eyes away from their horrified fixation:

Sephiroth extended his arms as if in invitation, lips pulling into a smirk as he settled his gaze over Cloud. "I've been waiting, Cloud."

Cloud felt an involuntary shudder run its course through his body. After the handful of times he'd dealt with hallucinations, there was an unsure part of him regarding the realness of the moment. Then, the coolness in his left hand gave a gentle squeeze. He glanced to see Aerith next to him, watching his face anxiously. His heart skipped a beat.

"Is he really there?" he asked.

Her gaze slid beyond his to the other and back, nodding. "He's real," she reassured gently. "He's there."

_Sephiroth._

"Isn't this a touching _reunion_ ," Sephiroth emphasized calmly as Cloud found his feet slowly scuffling forward, his hand tugging free from the cold anchor that had kept him in place. There was an alluring canvas to his the other man's voice, one that had him strangely compelled to listen.

On edge and anxious, he carefully held his sword out as he approached, answering, "This isn't anything. You're _dead._ "

The smirk grew more pronounced and hands drifted silently back to his sides. A single eyebrow quirked up. Distantly, Cloud heard the noises of others talking behind him, but he couldn't distinguish any specifics from their words. There was only Sephiroth, who was definitely supposed to be dead. Cloud _had_ killed him…right?

" _Cloud_ ," Sephiroth said, his name gracing the other's lips in a fashion that made his insides recoil. There was a strange possessiveness to the tone that almost frightened him. _Almost._ "If I am dead, how am I here?"

"I…I don't know, you're in my head again or something," Cloud muttered in reply, not bothering to speak at a tone the other could hear, because he usually could. Of course he could, he was Sephiroth.

Sure enough, there was an unholy chuckle from the other, a sound that cut through his mind and latched itself there. As if he'd been hit on the head, he found his mind beginning to pound against his skull in a sickening, angry beat. Cloud almost dropped his sword as he reached up in shock and agony to clutch his temple.

"I'll _always_ be in your head," Sephiroth said amusedly, and his words echoed in Cloud's ears and reverberated around his skull. The silver-haired man raised his arms again. "You're far too important to leave unchecked, not when you're still useful to me. To _her_."

 _H…her?_ his mind shakily repeated in a haze of confusion and pain. _Who is he referring to?_ Steeling his resolve and gritting his teeth in an attempt to bite back the pain, Cloud stood up straight and took another defiant step forward. He was ten feet away from Sephiroth now, still well enough away to avoid the all-too-familiar steel of Masamune but close enough that if he wanted to, he could leap in and try to finish the job. "I'll bring you down, here and now," he snapped towards Sephiroth.

But Sephiroth was shaking his head with a smile. "Maybe if you were in SOLDIER, but even then…it's unlikely."

The pain increased tenfold and with it came a sickening tint of swampy green. Cloud grunted and this time the buster sword clattered to the ground as a spasm of pain ripped through his entire body. A strange, soothing voice was licking up the sides of his mind, promising it could quell the pain, stop the tremors…and at the same time, it left him chilled and terrified. He felt small and insignificant, like his younger self had been before he could protect himself. He felt like a child under the scolding gaze of its mother.

 _Mother_ …

"I'm an ex-SOLDIER," the last shred of hope in him stated, _pleaded._ He was strong, he was able to protect those he cared about… He was a SOLDIER.

Sephiroth raised his arms higher and a purplish glint shone in his feline-like eyes, its rim of violet overtaking the bright green around the slitted pupils. "If you're sure of that, then strike me down, _Cloud._ Kill me, as you did all those years ago."

His mind was torn into a raging battle of two wills. A part of him desperately wanted to take Sephiroth up on his offer, and he even eyed his sword while it lay useless against the asphalt. This part struggled against the larger, angrier force that forced him rooted on the spot. A helpless desperation began to creep around his heart and into the rest of his chest, filling his lungs and making breathing difficult. "I…I…" he croaked as he struggled with himself. _What's happening?_

Just as a bead of sweat dripped down his cheek and he began to think that maybe staying put was the better option after all – a small part of him screamed, _NO!_ – Cloud found something else in his vision.

_A…hand?_

Palm out, fingers splayed, the hand was accompanied by a strong, solitary, feminine voice:

"Don't."

The swampy green in his vision intermingled with sickening purple that reminded him of his episode in the elevator, and with wide eyes Cloud sought the owner of the voice and hand. He had barely begun to turn his head when she stepped forward even farther, placing herself in between him and his foe.

" _Don't_ ," Aerith said again in a voice so firm that, if he didn't know her better, Cloud wouldn't know it was her. She shot a look over her shoulder, plait of hair swinging over her shoulder as she did, and their eyes locked. Through the green and purple and utter confusion his body and mind were in, he suddenly forgot about everything else, body going completely still at the burst of revelation.

 _The emerald green._ Suddenly it all made sense to Cloud, where he'd been having that nagging feeling of seeing that color before, where he'd been struggling to figure out where he knew _her_ from. That shade of green had saved him once, and before he realized it, he was being brought back again. He'd anchored himself in those eyes once before, and he used them now to force down the angry purple that whispered threats into his brain. He let the sparkling emeralds become the green his eyes fixated on, so that the mako green slipped away until he was left with nothing but a clearing night sky, an empty expressway, and Aerith.

She gave him a quick smile. "I'm here," she reassured him. He swallowed and gave a quick nod as the world flew back to him. Suddenly there was noise all around, as if he'd been immersed in water before and now he had finally resurfaced. Behind him were the rest of the group, anxiously twitching about as they murmured to each other.

Behind these noises, Cloud could make out the distant rumble of the nearest mako reactor, its deep machinery almost shaking the concrete expressway beneath his feet. There was the soft scattering of monsters and animals alike down below, working their way through the edge of the Midgar wastes in search of food and prey. If he listened closely, he could hear a distant helicopter in the inner city.

Aerith, who was waiting patiently for him, gave his face a quick once-over when his gaze slid back to hers again, back to those sparkling emeralds. His heartbeat slowed to a more normal pace and he stretched his fingers that had been clenched into fists to alleviate the pressure to his knuckles.

He nodded, and then finally looked beyond her back to where Sephiroth was standing –

Just in time to see the former SOLDIER raise his arms wide and fall backwards in a graceful drop. The last thing Cloud saw before he disappeared over the end of the road was a knowing smile. An accompanying voice rang in his ears as his nemesis disappeared:

 _Come and find me, Cloud,_ it whispered. _Follow me._

After the beat of shock that came with the voice, Cloud scooped up the buster sword and dashed around Aerith to the edge of the road. He glanced down quickly, but by the time he got there, even with his enhanced vision, the drop was too far and too dark for him to make out anything more than the subtle boulders of the wastes against a dark gray backdrop.

Cloud let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and he dropped to his knees and kept a keen eye out anyway, Sephiroth's last message ringing over and over in his ears like a broken record:

_Follow me._

The coolness returned, this time to his shoulder, and he felt more than saw Aerith kneel next to him. She was silent, patient, and he inwardly thanked her for that. The revelation he'd just had about how her eyes brought him out of his memory lapses before weighed fresh on his mind, lingering there like the scent of a fresh flower – or like Aerith, for that matter. She smelled like flowers and freedom.

"Are you going to be okay?" she finally asked in a soft, gentle voice. It was like hearing music, and he inhaled again and let the air rush out in one big movement. Behind them, the shifting of their friends waiting distracted him for the slightest moment, but there was no sound of approaching footsteps. In fact, Kunsel seemed to be having the rest of them search the truck for supplies, if he could hear right.

Which he couldn't, because he was thoroughly distracted by that emerald gaze staring at him again. Her features were soft and kind, and she reached up with her other hand to cup his cheek. Involuntarily, Cloud closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

"We have to go after him," he finally whispered into the air as he squeezed his eyes shut and forced the remnants of the headache to the farthest recesses of his mind. He needed to address a lot of things, but for now, he knew where their focus needed to be. It pained him to admit, but it would mean postponing whatever she wanted to do with her newfound freedom. As he opened his eyes again, he cast his gaze downward to study his old SOLDIER pants and the sand on the road below them. "Aerith, I can't ask you to –"

She cut him off by moving her hand from his cheek to his chin, and, tilting it up a bit, Cloud found himself looking into her eyes again, but only briefly as she moved forward and pressed her lips against his.

The rest of his pain melted away, and with it went his sense of the world around them. Cloud gasped in surprise against her mouth, a shuddering intake of breath inhaling the lovely lavender of her clothing and skin. She smiled into his surprise and pressed harder, cupping his face in her hands. As his heart roared happily and his chest burst with warmth, Cloud found himself reaching back, caressing her neck, her hair. He pulled her closer and tilted her face a bit as some unknown instinct took over.

Then Aerith giggled against his lips, and for a moment the spell was broken. Cloud pulled back self-consciously, feeling the heat build on his face and neck as he suddenly felt self-conscious, shy. _This isn't like me_ , the last shred of his sanity half-complained. _I don't have time to go around kissing girls._ As amazing as it was…

"I'm sorry," Aerith whispered against his cheek where she placed another heated kiss. "I know now is not the time, but Cloud… I want to go with you. Wherever you go, I want to go."

Her confession caught his attention once more and he pulled back slightly to meet her shining gaze. She was looking at _him_ as if he were the only person in the world. Cloud felt the opposite – surely _she_ was the only other person in _his_ world.

Instinct taking over once more against a futile reminder that they were being watched, he brought his lips to hers again, enveloping her in his arms and relishing in the electrifying feeling that came over his body as he did so. His lips moved against hers and a small part of him took pride in _her_ being the one caught off-guard this time. She responded quickly, running her cool fingers through his hair while she inhaled sharply. She was warm and felt like home in his arms.

"Are you sure?" Cloud murmured against her lips when he broke the kiss off a few moments later. His chest was pounding and his breathing was erratic, and it may have been the distant whooping from Kunsel and laughter from Barret that distracted him from the moment, but he had to make sure. The last thing he wanted was Aerith being put in danger, but the second-to-last thing he wanted was to part from her.

She looked up through her eyelashes at his face, her expression open and honest. "I'm sure," she whispered firmly.

"Not that this isn't fun," Kunsel called from over by the truck, effectively startling them both as he continued, "but we should probably put some distance between us and Midgar before they figure out a way around the debris."

Cloud felt his face flush as he finally stood, offering his hand to Aerith to help her do the same. They met their friends halfway between the truck and the edge of the road where Sephiroth had stood, and he did his best not to notice the knowing smile Tifa sent his way or the smirk of amusement that was taking up residence on Barret's face. Instead, he looked towards Kunsel, who was crossing his arms and trying to maintain composure and was failing to stop a grin from spreading across his face. Cloud appreciated his attempt.

"What's the plan, then?" he asked in a bid to direct the attention away from himself and Aerith, who had snuck her hand into his.

Kunsel was the first to answer. "Well if we're going to get Aerith away from Shinra for good, we need to go farther than the edge of the city."

"There's a town not too far from here, Kalm," Barret supplied. The smirk had left his face and instead his eyes were scrunched up as he looked back towards the city. "We could start there and figure stuff out later."

It was then that Cloud realized what was bothering the larger man. "Is Marlene…" he started carefully, hoping the answer wouldn't be negative.

"She's safe, don't worry."

Tifa's response was quick and reassuring. Cloud let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. While he and Barret's four-year-old daughter hadn't exactly been close – _then again, when have I ever been close with kids?_ – the girl was a regular at Seventh Heaven, Tifa's bar he sometimes ended up playing busboy for. She was talkative, too; he once heard her have an entire half-hour conversation about cats with Wedge.

"She's staying with Marle for now," Barret added with a quick sniff. "I don't want to be gone too long, but after today, I'm not sure if I have much of a choice."

Cloud stepped forward, squeezing and letting go of Aerith's hand quickly to meet the taller man's eyes. "We'll get you back to her," he promised solemnly. This seemed to alleviate Barret's concerns for a moment, and he nodded firmly in acceptance.

That settled, he sighed and returned to Aerith's side, where she quickly intertwined their fingers again. He glanced downward at their hands, his face adapting red as its new permanent color in the process. He could feel everybody's eyes on him.

"So…" he started lamely as he coughed once and shot a quick glance to the SOLDIER second class. "Shall we mosey?"


	15. Epilogue

_Aerith_

Aerith's fingers caressed the small purple flower daintily, brushing against its impossibly small petals and its lime-green leaves. A small, hardy stem rooted it to the dewy, grassy meadow beneath her, and she smiled at the simple beauty of it.

Around her, the soft, warm glow of orange and gold enveloped her like a much-needed hug. Pink crowded the sky in an attempt to blot out the navy that was rapidly fading into lighter shades of blue. The last of the evening stars were winking out of existence, and the glowing red promise of the sun breaking across the plains' horizon was nigh. Overnight crickets had stilled their song and the gentle twitter of waking songbirds began to arise from the landscape. The first murmurings of a stirring town wafted over the stone wall behind her and promised a bustling day to come.

Her time to herself was ending, she knew. Eventually, she would need to make her way back through the Kalm's gates and to the small inn at the center of town where her friends still slept. They had arrived at the small village only the day before last, and while the first night had been full of nothing but blissful sleep fueled by the exhaustion from traveling, last night had been a different story. She had lain in bed, her mind racing as she digested the events of the past week. The room hadn't been silent, either; for one, Barret was a loud snorer, his deep inhales sounding like the spluttering to life of a motorbike. With each growing snore, she had found herself getting more and more restless. Red, although quieter than the large man, was also a snorer. Together, the two of them were a constant cacophony of noise. On top of that, sharing a bed with somebody else was a new experience her mind wasn't quite comprehending. Tifa wasn't a bed hog and nor was she a snorer – in fact she slept like the dead – but the experience was strange nonetheless.

On the middle bed of the three the room provided, Kunsel was usually a light sleeper, but apparently the past few days had wiped him out too. Aerith had been able to sneak out undetected by her friend.

And then there had been Cloud. Cloud, who refused to sleep in a bed and instead propped himself up against the far wall so he could keep an eye on them and the door. Cloud, who had been silent almost the entire time on their way to Kalm, who had barely spoken more than three words as he silently kept an eye out over Aerith's shoulder. They'd spent the first day gathering supplies and checking rumors to see if Shinra knew their whereabouts. The only time he'd so much as shown emotion was when he, Aerith, and Kunsel had come across a freshly-printed wanted poster of Cloud hanging in the bar across from the inn. Cloud had shot the paper a look of utter disgust, curling his lip in annoyance, and didn't hesitate to tear the poster down when nobody was around.

She had been tempted more than once to bring up a few areas of conversation that flitted around in her mind since the fateful escape from Midgar. The first thing on her mind was the subject that really hadn't left it at all: Cloud's mental state. When she had first discovered the younger version of him while in the lifestream, that had opened up a realm of possibilities as to what was going on with him. When they had first seen Sephiroth and he had turned to her to make sure he wasn't _hallucinating_ , that's when small warning bells had begun going off in her head. Seeing the mental, emotional, and physical struggle against Sephiroth again at the edge of the city had prompted something new in her – protectiveness. Aerith hadn't had people to protect, and there was something about that moment against the once SOLDIER first class who had since been declared killed in action that had prompted Zack to assure her she had power there. _She_ had the ability to bring Cloud back, to keep him sane. While Zack nor the lifestream shed any more light on the subject, she took that at face value and had steeled her resolve around keeping Cloud mentally well.

She supposed it wasn't a surprise now that she could sense his eyes boring holes into her back. He'd been there for a few minutes, and Aerith hadn't minded the silent out-of-sight company. She ran her fingers through the damp tendrils of grass and smiled into the sun with her eyes closed against the red light.

"It's a beautiful morning," she voiced out loud, letting him know she knew he was there.

There was a surprised noise from behind her before a quick cough attempted to mask it. "It's bright," Cloud replied simply.

"Are you going to join me?"

She patted the ground next to her and chanced a glance over her shoulder to take him in. Cloud was leaning against the stone wall that stretched protectively around Kalm, his arms crossed and expression contemplative. The red of the sun left an ethereal glow on his skin and dyed his blond hair a honey-gold color. He'd also left his sword and some of his gear back in the inn. As she watched, he pushed off the wall, uncrossed his arms, and slowly approached. He silently sat down next to her in his signature position, left leg tucked under his right while he rested an arm on his knee. He looked impassively at the sun but she caught a slight flush on his cheeks.

"Good morning," Aerith greeted with a small smile.

Cloud grunted once in reply and looked away. "Morning," he echoed. Aerith smiled at his acknowledgement and resumed brushing her fingers against the small purple flowers that dotted the ground at the edge of town. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, and she let the sun bathe her in warmth and light as it continued its way above the horizon.

"What're you thinking about?" she finally asked with a tilt of her head towards him. He started and she realized he'd been staring at her. His face flushed and he ducked his head, mumbling back, "Nothing."

Aerith giggled and leaned on his shoulder, inwardly grateful he'd left his pauldron back in the inn. He whirled his head to look at her in surprise, and she beamed back at him. "Oh _really_ , Cloud?" she joked with a nudge into his arm. "Just nothing?"

"I –"

He was having trouble speaking, and there was something innocent and adorable in his lost expression. She reached a hand up to his face, stroked his cheek slowly, and pressed her lips to his in a small kiss.

Just like the first time she'd kissed him a couple days before, he gasped against her lips in surprise. Smiling, Aerith leaned into the kiss while wrapping her arm around his neck to turn his body so that they were facing each other. His hands came up to her hair as he responded in earnest. There was a steady warmth beginning in her chest and buzzing into her fingers and toes as she dared to take the kiss a step further; her tongue darted out of her mouth and traced the delicious taste of his lips.

Cloud made a noise in the back of his throat, almost like a half-caught moan. Unable to restrain herself, she pulled back from him and laughed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized in between fits of giggles. "I just really enjoy kissing you, Cloud."

His mouth was open in a shocked 'o,' but his blue-green eyes burned at the lingering effects of the moment. "I enjoy kissing you too," he admitted with surprising gusto for somebody as shy as he'd been. He must have caught up with his words a moment later because he flushed crimson and ducked his head again.

Aerith laughed again, assuring, "It's okay, Cloud. It's okay to like things like that. Haven't you kissed a girl before?"

Face still hidden behind his hair, he shook his head once. "No."

"Never?" The laughter died on her lips and she studied his body language in careful thought. "Not with anybody when you were a kid? What about Tifa?"

"We're not like that," Cloud answered so quickly that the words tumbled out of his mouth. He turned away from her and brought his other knee up so he could hide his face in his raised knees. The position was not unlike the one the younger Cloud had done when he was crying in the lifestream.

Aerith put a gentle hand on his arm and adjusted herself so that she could lay against him again. "It's okay," she promised. "I haven't had a lot of practice kissing either. Maybe we can figure it out together?"

After a few seconds of gentle tugging, she convinced him to show his face again. His face was still pink but that could have been the early-morning glow. He stared at her for a few seconds, and she could practically see those gears turning slowly as he formulated his next words.

"If I ask you something…will you answer me?" he finally spoke, and his voice had taken on a curious but anticipatory tone.

Aerith tilted her head at the change in mood and smiled politely. "Maybe," she answered as she snuggled in closer. "But only if you tell me something in return."

His brow furrowed as he gave her counteroffer some thought. Then he nodded. "Will you…" he tensed, as if waiting for some kind of reaction, "…tell me about – Zack?"

_Oh._

"Oh!" her exclamation matched her inner thoughts as she immediately reached into the back recesses of her mind to see if the man in question was listening in. But no, she hadn't felt the lifestream directly since things had quieted down and Sephiroth had taken his dramatic fall off the road. Zack _had_ said he wouldn't be present all the time, and her assumption was that maybe only in direct planet-related emergencies he'd be back. This really was too bad, because she hadn't gotten a chance to ask him some Cloud-specific questions yet. For both that hole in her knowledge and for this explanation, she was on her own.

"I'm sorry, I was just…curious," Cloud said lamely as he scrunched his eyes shut and reached a sheepish hand to the back of his head.

Aerith pulled herself out of her planet-searching and met his gaze. "No, it's fine," she replied quickly. "I was just concerned about you. There are things that set you off and I thought…Zack…was one of them."

At the name she saw him tense again as if he agreed with her, but there was no other adverse reaction to the name. Cloud relaxed his shoulders and sighed as if relieved by that fact.

"Anyway, I'd be happy to tell you what I do know about him, although it probably isn't much," she continued. "And my condition in return is I want to know your story, as much as you can remember…especially about Sephiroth. Deal?"

Holding out her hand as if they were striking a business contract and not spending time kissing each other in the quiet of an early morning, Aerith was delighted when he took her hand in his and gave a strong tug on it. The corners of his mouth lifted, almost revealing a smile.

"Deal," he said, but then he frowned. "Although I'll probably need to save my story for everybody. Barret's been hounding me since we got here to talk about what happened."

She sighed and made the decision to stand up, stretching her arms above her head and letting the warmth of the low-hanging sun envelop her one last time. "I suppose we should head back then," she sighed sadly as she admired the purple flowers one last time.

Cloud looked from the flowers to her. "Do you like flowers?" he blurted out suddenly as he shifted to his feet and waited for her reaction.

"I do," she affirmed with a small smile. "Zack used to sneak me flowers from all over the world when he went on missions. Of course, they'd come back a little worse for wear, but the ones that made it always smelled so pretty. And then there's the church in the sector five slums." Sighing, she looked back towards the village entrance. "I used to go there twice a year to pay homage to my mom and Zack. It was the closest I felt to the planet, sitting with those flowers. If I stop and listen to them, sometimes I think they want to speak with me, to share something with me."

The dreamy quality her voice took on caught up to her and she smiled sadly as she gazed back towards Cloud. He was staring with an unreadable expression. "In conclusion, I really like flowers," she finished.

He nodded as if he was storing the information for later. "Let's go." He held out his hand and she took it, content to bask in the sunlight at her back and the warmth in her chest and in their intertwined hands. Whatever happened next, she could handle it. She had Cloud, and there was an entire world of freedom on her horizon.

* * *

_Rufus Shinra_

Rufus thoughtfully studied the files in front of him as a world of snow flew by his helicopter window. Normally he wouldn't have taken this mode of transportation so far north, especially in a snowstorm, but he had been assured the matter was urgent and needed to be handled delicately. Annoyance streaked across his mind and his fingers bent the particular paper he was studying as the helicopter lurched forward and dropped a few feet.

"Keep it steady!" he snapped to the Turks in front of him.

The Turks in question – Reno and Rude – didn't give any indication that they cared about Rufus's wellbeing other than for Rude to nod curtly with a, "You got it, boss," and Reno to grip the steering a little tighter.

Rufus settled back in his seat and returned his gaze to the files. The thicker file underneath the one he had just finished leafing through in an off-hand curious manner was briefly titled "NI – 0002" and contained a short list of firsthand reports from a situation in a small reactor town on the western continent some five years prior. While the file had gruesome details in the recognizably-indifferent tone of the Turks, Rufus kept his interest mild and detached as he'd skimmed through the accounts of the SOLDIER mission assigned there: the turning of the great Sephiroth in a flash of fire and death, and then the impossible matter of rebuilding said town to not arouse suspicion among the rest of Gaia. Although it was a cover-up, it was a poor one at best and was completely unnecessary considering how his father had allowed many _other_ towns to be destroyed without any indication of a coverup.

He was treating the matter like he was regarding one of his directors – oh, how he liked to remind himself that _he_ was in charge now, not his insolent father – with a taste of disdain. His father had been cruel and ruthless, but he also didn't take the financial matters of things into consideration when doing something as stupid as dropping a plate on a couple of slum-dwellers who broke the rules.

_How exhausting_ , he contemplated on the unnecessary effort.

Smiling to himself at his much smarter thought process, he focused on the youthful face at the top of the page he now held. The face staring up at him held light blue eyes with no indication of enhancements, the cheeks were more youthful, and the uniform was only from basic infantry. There was almost no indication the boy in the picture was even remotely related to the man he'd fought the week before, except the ridiculous hair. There was no mistaking that hair on anybody else.

_Cloud Strife_ , he read for the third time before his eyes skimmed the rest of the page. The boy the file described was short, rather weak, and definitely not SOLDIER material if the bolded note about mako sensitivity was anything to go by. And then there was the standard red stamp in the top right corner too:

_KILLED IN ACTION._

"He didn't look very dead to me," he mused out loud.

Next to him, Tseng adjusted himself and took a quick glance over his shoulder. "That's the official report per the request of Professor Hojo. In reality, he and a SOLDIER were taken for an experimental project operating out of the company manor in Nibelheim."

"Fascinating." Rufus eyed the picture with the new lens of the boy being an experiment of Hojo's. It certainly would make sense, considering how he would zone out at random points in the brief time Rufus had been in his presence. While Rufus wasn't familiar with the effects of mako on a sensitive individual, he could hazard a guess that side-effects of putting the two together would result in similarly strange actions by the individual as what was being displayed with Cloud. "So Hojo made him mako enhanced? But why?"

Tseng glanced towards his PHS as it dinged. "We're almost there," he said by way of response instead of answering.

Rufus frowned at Tseng's dismissal, but smoothed his expression a moment later. _Fair enough,_ he thought. _The question was rhetorical._

Folding the file together, Rufus caught one final look at the boyish face before he handed the stack back to Tseng. "I would like to be made aware of any other hidden projects Hojo is working on."

"Of course, sir," Tseng said immediately.

"And what is the status of tracking down the director himself?"

Up in the front seat, Reno and Rude shared a discreet glance. It did not go unnoticed, and neither did the extra moment Tseng took to pack the files into the waiting briefcase. "We have been unsuccessful at this time," the director of the Turks finally admitted, although for his credit he kept his tone curt and informative. "In order to improve our manpower, we are looking into hiring new candidates to assist in the search."

"Very well, see that it gets done," Rufus sighed in response. His gaze traced back out to the window and was surprised that the snowfall had lifted somewhat to reveal a fresh, white world coating gray, jagged rocks that sloped downward into an unseen crater below. He was only vaguely aware of the new project up here, since he had never been privy to his father's obsession with the Promised Land. Giving the window another cursory glance told him all he needed to know about just how _wrong_ his father had been on its location. He doubted mako would flow easily in such a cold, desolate land with its permanent ivory coating.

The helicopter was descending now, and he silently clenched a fist at the loathed swooping feeling his stomach experienced at the drop in altitude. The empty view suddenly became full of activity, as small temporary shelters and groups of people flitted about the camp they set down in. Once the chopper had settled on the icy tarmac, Rufus allowed Tseng to open the door for him, sending in a wave of frigid air in the process. Small tendrils of snow entered the space excitedly and settled across the seats in the process. Shoving down the shiver that threatened to roll down his spine and brushing the few flakes that had dared settle onto his clothing, he swept out of the helicopter and into the cloudy, snowy world of the northern crater.

A multitude of science-looking types were hovering like insects around a light, their bodies flitting amongst one another as files were passed, looks were exchanged, and the low buzzing of murmurs reached his ears. He found the sound to be highly irritating, so he stood up straight and marched towards the group in an attempt to make them stop. His strategy worked; he loomed over them and they fell silent and still, one by one.

"Who's in charge?" he snapped at the group, although it was more to scare them than ask for a real answer.

Tseng had fallen into his place at his side and answered before the scientists could. "Professor Lumen, sir," he smoothly filled in the blank.

A few of the eager-to-please crowd bobbed their heads in agreement. Rufus sighed, already feeling a headache blossom from this ridiculous behavior.

"Lead the way then," he said vaguely to whichever person saw themselves the most capable of doing the simple yet arduous task of taking him to somebody more focused and in charge.

Two such characters whose names he decided not to remember respectfully and silently led him towards the small village of tents within view. As they did so, Rufus slowed ever-so-slightly to allow Tseng to fall into step with him.

"Why are they digging up here for the Promised Land?" he asked the other.

Tseng straightened his shoulders and fixed his gaze in the distance. "Aerith painted it in perfect clarity a few months ago," he responded easily, and if Rufus didn't know him better, he wouldn't have known that there was something off about his tone. Filing the information away for later, he rolled the thought around in his mind as the image of the Ancient flitted across his memory.

_It's really too bad she decided to shirk her duties to Shinra,_ he thought passively to himself. _She would have made things much easier._

It wasn't a romantic attraction as Rufus assumed others would prefer such a match to be; no, he really didn't see himself in any sort of attraction of that regard. In short, people annoyed him or were of use to him, but rarely did he see himself enjoying the company of others. No, Aerith would have been a means to an end. He had thought of ways to win her over to his side, and somehow they had all fallen flat because of that infuriating not-SOLDIER _lab specimen_ that Hojo had let get escape.

The headache was becoming full-throttled now and he pinched the bridge of his nose in a quick attempt to alleviate the stress. Hojo was indeed a problem, but at this point the damage was already done. The Ancient was no longer in Shinra hands and neither was a dangerous science experiment. They would have to be dealt with, and quickly.

Turning to Tseng, he returned to the matter at hand. "What is the nature of this emergency?"

"I'm…unsure," Tseng returned with a slight frown. "The professor wasn't keen to discuss it over PHS and she demanded you here personally."

"Naturally," Rufus said dryly. He was beginning to feel the cold on his face and was pleased to see they were beelining it for a large tent in the middle of the makeshift village. The two scientists pulled open the flaps of the tent and he strode in, eyes immediately taking in the scene in front of him.

The light in the tent was dark and not ideal. Its source was a single lantern that glowed with the unmistakable hue of mako green. The greenish tint lingered on the faces of the two people who currently occupied the tent, one with an ashen face sitting on a floor cushion while the other loomed over him with fistfuls of photos and a face full of concern. Both looked over when he walked in, and they snapped to attention almost immediately, the sitting man flinging himself up in such a quick fashion that he almost fell over again. It was almost comical, if Rufus were to find such a thing amusing.

"What is the emergency?" Rufus asked the woman in the room as he made the assumption she was the professor due to Tseng's previous pronoun usage. The woman, who realized she had dropped some of her photos, quickly bent down to pick them up.

Nervousness sang in her expression as she edged forward, holding the mismatched stack of photos out for him to see. "Sir, while we were exploring the area, we came across the most peculiar thing, and…well, you'll see," Professor Lumen finished lamely. The man behind her was eyeing his cushion and looked to be considering sitting again.

Rufus accepted the photos, glanced at each of them for a brief moment, and then studied them. Impressive ice sculptures took up the backgrounds of each picture as they reflected that same mako green that he was using to see in the tent at that very moment. The presence of mako in what looked like tunnels of rock and ice was a good sign, but almost instantaneously he realized that wasn't the point of the pictures. No, there was something else that drew his focus. The first photo was a little too far away so he rapidly scanned the next few until he found a closer shot of the item – or person – of interest that presented itself.

"There has been no movement since we stumbled upon him, not even when we were in the room with him," Professor Lumen explained breathlessly as she carefully stepped forward to point at the expressionless face in the picture. "Sir, it's…it's him."

_Well. This changes everything._

Eying the photo, Rufus felt the muscles in his back tense for a moment. He thought about his plans for Gaia and his plans for bringing the Shinra Electric Power Company into the next generation. He thought about Aerith the Ancient and Cloud Strife the experiment, and their ragged group of friends. It was as if he were examining the world within his grasp at a birds-eye view. He could easily toss out the vast majority of his previous plans now, and he did as such while his mind began plotting a new one altogether.

"It seems that nobody in that reactor incident will stay dead," he murmured thoughtfully to Tseng at his side. His eyes glanced once more at the obvious figure wrapped protectively in ice, and his cold blood began to heat in a grim excitement:

_Let's wake the great General Sephiroth._

**_The End._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been an amazing experience, writing and posting my first multi-chapter fic for FF7. I've been in the fandom since early May last year, and I am always overwhelmed by the support, the idea-sharing, and the fanworks that are produced by incredible people in this fandom. In addition, your comments have made me so incredibly happy. I appreciate your commenting despite my not usually responding, and I promise that I have read EVERY SINGLE COMMENT. Thank you for giving your time to share feedback on my story!
> 
> A massive, incredible thank you to my friend Rand0mSmil3z for having the time and patience to edit my document. We became friends when I reached out to her to offer my beta services on her fic Halcyon Days, and then she offered to do the same to my fics. Bouncing ideas off her has become my go-to for new fic ideas. We even have a joint writing series, Midgar Paranormal Files. She has been integral in keeping my interest in the fandom and sharing in my excitement for new ideas and I love her very much. Thank you, my friend.
> 
> Future plans: The Star of Midgar is set up to have a potential sequel someday, although there aren't any concrete plans at this time. In addition, I have a few shorter story ideas floating around in my head, not necessarily all romance-based but I have had this earworm of a fic idea in my head for three weeks now that may end up a longer, mature-rated Clerith fic. Stick around for that, although I can't promise a specific time-frame!
> 
> Thank you for being here. Stay healthy during these times. - Liv


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